Chapter 30: It's a Match!

"That is excellent!"

Du Yuan withdrew his hand with great satisfaction and, taking the opportunity, smiled at Wu Dadao, who stood nearby looking at a loss. "Well? Are you not going to retrieve your ancestral treasure blade?"

"Oh! Daoist, are you saying the blade still belongs to me?"

Wu Dadao felt as if spring had arrived early. He had long assumed that even if the blade weren't gone forever, it would never find its way back into his hands. After all, it possessed such miraculous power—even if most of that was due to the Daoist. Given his experience with the local imperial authorities, he knew that even if Magistrate Fang were inclined to negotiate, some superior official would surely find a way to seize it. At best, he might receive a small reward—a meal, a jar of good wine, or perhaps, if luck struck, a few ingots of silver. More likely, he would receive nothing but a verbal commendation, and he would have been lucky to get a new blade to replace his lost one.

But now, everything was different. The Daoist himself had declared it to be his family's blade. Even if he couldn't keep it in the end, there would certainly be some form of compensation. Otherwise, answering to the Daoist would be the first concern for anyone involved!

Du Yuan was initially puzzled, intending to tease Wu Dadao for not wanting his own ancestral weapon. But when he caught a glimpse of the man's eyes—filled with a mix of pleasant surprise and lingering fear—he understood. He had nearly caused this poor executioner a great deal of trouble.

With a slight shift in his thoughts, Du Yuan reached out and, amidst the executioner's flustered expression, draped an arm over his shoulder. He led him before the gathered townspeople of Qing County and pointed toward the potter's field outside the city walls.

"That is your ancestral blade; it can only be wielded by you, its successor. Whether you keep it or give it away, the choice is yours alone. Not to mention others, even if I, a humble Daoist, were to intervene, the rules remain the same." Du Yuan added, "Otherwise, such fierce power may reject its master and cause harm in return. So, why haven't you gone to find it yet?"

Since he had already done a good deed, he would see it through to the end. Once Du Yuan had spoken openly before the crowd, there would be no fear of further trouble. As for keeping the blade for himself, the thought had never crossed his mind. It was someone else's heirloom; he had merely borrowed it, and there was no reason to claim it as his own.

Just as Du Yuan finished speaking, Qian Youcai hurried over, rubbing his hands together. "Brother, I see your circumstances seem a bit strained. My Qian family is willing to offer this amount for that treasure blade of yours! What do you say?"

Since the Daoist had called it a fine blade, it was surely a purchase that could not go wrong. Qian Youcai was eager to seize the opportunity. He had already imagined how he would use it—if not to combat demons and evil spirits, it would surely serve well as a talisman for his home.

Seeing the five fingers Qian Youcai held up, Wu Dadao gasped, "Five hundred taels?"

He could never earn that much money in a lifetime! For a moment, Wu Dadao was tempted. The Second Young Master Qian was from a wealthy, prestigious family and had seen with his own eyes the power the blade held in the Daoist's hands. He reckoned that besides the Second Young Master, no one else would be willing to pay such a price. He preferred the immediate, tangible benefit over the potential use of the blade.

Just as he was about to accept, Qian Youcai hurriedly waved his hands. "No, no, that is not five hundred taels!"

Wu Dadao's face fell. Of course, that made sense; how could anyone offer five hundred taels? That was an amount even the Magistrate couldn't save in five years even if he didn't eat or drink. But fifty taels was too little, so he tried to push back. "Second Young Master Qian, I am very tempted by your offer, but this is surely too little."

Qian Youcai looked a bit embarrassed as he cupped his hands and said, "Five thousand taels of silver. It is indeed a bit low, but... but that is all I can manage on my own."

How much? Five thousand taels?

At that moment, not only Wu Dadao but even Magistrate Fang and the commoners below were stunned into silence. Only Du Yuan, having read countless stories where people tossed around millions of taels as if they were nothing, felt it was of no consequence.

"It's a deal! I will take you to retrieve the blade right now!" Wu Dadao grabbed Qian Youcai's hand with the greatest speed of his life. "Shall I trouble you to come with me, or should I bring it to you once I have found it?"

"Wait, you... you agreed?" Qian Youcai was slightly dazed. Hadn't he just said it was too little?

"The Daoist is here as our witness! I would never go back on my word!" Why would he hesitate over five thousand taels? Wu Dadao was certain that if he were even a moment slower, his ancestors would reach out from his dreams tonight to throttle him!

"Then it is a deal, with the Daoist as our witness!"

The two looked toward Du Yuan, pleading for his confirmation. Du Yuan could only smile and nod. "Mm, I have noted it. Be off with you."

And so, to Du Yuan's amusement, the two men sprinted toward the city gates faster than horses, each terrified that the other might try to back out, relying on the Daoist's easygoing nature. As the saying goes, opportunities like this don't come twice!

Watching the scene, Du Yuan was reminded of an interesting story he had often heard in his hometown. He never expected to see a variation of it reenacted through his own actions today.

Shaking his head, Du Yuan turned back to Magistrate Fang, preparing to speak, when a man below suddenly exclaimed, "It matches! It all matches!"

Matches what? Curiosity caused Du Yuan to swallow his words and look down along with Magistrate Fang.

He saw a man who looked familiar—likely one of those from that day—happily pulling on his companion's sleeve. "The world knows the immortals are good, but only gold and silver are hard to forget! Every day one laments that one has not gathered enough, and when one has enough, the eyes close in death. The world knows the immortals are good, but only a beautiful wife is hard to forget! When the husband lives, he speaks of grace and love, but when he dies, she follows another man."

"It matches! Everything matches!"

"What? What are you talking about?" The onlookers were whispering among themselves, but Magistrate Fang stared at his own trembling hands as if struck by lightning. The Qian family member, his face flushed with excitement, pointed at Du Yuan and shouted, "This is the very prophecy the Daoist chanted when we met him on the outskirts of town that day! Think about it, everyone—the Qian family was so obsessed with yellow and white wealth that they disturbed their own ancestors; does that not perfectly reflect 'hard to forget gold and silver'? And as for the Magistrate..."

He stole a glance at the Magistrate, whose face had turned pale, and decided not to say it outright, smoothing it over: "Doesn't the second half of the verse fit perfectly as well?"

The crowd erupted. It was already known throughout the city that the Qian family had caused their ancestors to manifest due to their greed for wealth. And while it had once been a celebrated tale that Magistrate Fang had taken only one concubine after his wife’s death, who could have known that the woman by his side was actually a demon in disguise? "When the husband lives, he speaks of grace and love, but when he dies, she follows another man"—did that not perfectly describe this hollow, treacherous bond?

Everything matched!

With this realization, it became clear that the Daoist was not merely someone who happened to stop by to right a wrong. He was clearly a living immortal who had foreseen the secrets of heaven and come specifically to save them from their suffering!

Looking at the awestruck commoners below, Magistrate Fang gasped, "Daoist... is all of this true?"

Du Yuan did not speak; he only looked at him and smiled.