Chapter 137 - 95: The Magnanimous Boss Ji, the Earth Treasure ’Jade Marrow Cold Lotus’, and a Vow to Settle in Jiangyin Prefecture

Chapter 137: Chapter 95: The Magnanimous Boss Ji, the Earth Treasure ’Jade Marrow Cold Lotus’, and a Vow to Settle in Jiangyin Prefecture

"If you don’t cherish this chance..."

"Then we’ll use rod and staff to teach you a lesson!"

Whether in his past life or his current one, Ji Xiu, blessed with the Innate Wisdom of two lifetimes, understood one principle deeply.

And that was: gambling addicts are not worthy of pity.

If you go easy on them, they’ll just try their luck again next time.

The gambling den loans of the Three Great Gangs were gone, converted by Ji Xiu into the Mountain Living business.

So those who couldn’t get silver coins from them would just go borrow from the Three Great Halls’ Martial Arts Halls instead.

Rather than failing to repay their debts later and getting packed up by old Liao Yuanhua and the Instructors of the other two Great Halls, they would be sent to the East Canghai, shipped via the docks to Jiangyin, and forced into hard labor.

It was better for them to first contribute to the starting point of his future enterprise—the Anning County mountain path business, which would fund his Martial Dao—and burn bright for him!

Of course, among them were undoubtedly some poor souls who truly couldn’t survive.

But to have fallen so low, they certainly lacked any proper work and lived day to day, never knowing what the next would bring.

But Ji Xiu was providing food, lodging, and clothing. Once their debts were paid off, he would even give them silver coins...

If he had encountered such a good deal back when he first woke up in this life, he might not have sold himself into servitude!

In a world like this, to do something like that was already considered an act of kindness.

"A Bodhisattva’s heart, but with thunderous methods."

"This General Leader..."

"For one so young, he is remarkably meticulous!"

Lin Zhenhai couldn’t help but marvel as he watched the indebted gamblers, now completely submissive.

He had originally thought that a naive youth like Ji Xiu, flush with early success, would be poor with accounts. He expected him to wave his hand, burn the debt records, and play the part of a magnanimous gentleman.

But if he’d really done that... how much silver would he have lost?

In Lin Zhenhai’s conventional way of thinking, he would have taken these lazy bums who couldn’t repay their debts, turned them all into unpaid Household Slaves, sold them to the Ji Residence to be worked like cattle, and squeezed every last drop of value from them.

This was the way of the wealthy, great families: if you owed them money you couldn’t repay, you had to sell your life to them.

But this Boss provided food and lodging, merely ’renting’ them through their debt. In comparison, he was truly a breath of fresh air, full of human decency.

At least he left them a path to survival. If this wasn’t ’Boss Ji, Righteousness that Pierces the Heavens,’ then you couldn’t find a second great man this kind-hearted in all of Anning County.

’Following a Boss like this is the only way to have a future!’

Lin Zhenhai felt more and more certain that offering the Lin Residence’s foundation to Ji Xiu and grooming Lin Ruyue to be the Chief Shopkeeper of the Ji Residence’s stores was truly a masterstroke.

Perhaps...

it would prove to be the most correct decision he had ever made in his entire life!

"Right, Boss."

"The end of the year is approaching. The Bosses of the Eighteen Mountain Towns and the Hunting Manors are all preparing for the ’Mountain Sacrifice’ to pray for favorable weather and good fortune next year. They’re just waiting for you, the General Leader, to grace them with your presence and take the seat of honor!"

"Also, the Bosses of the Wind and Cloud Association’s Three Major Professions have sent invitations. In the name of the fourth seat of honor, they invite you to a banquet to discuss next year’s ’County Livelihoods.’"

"The Instructors of the Three Great Halls and Lord Zhao the County Magistrate have also sent their Disciples. They say that because you used your Martial Power to forge a blood oath and subdue the powerful figures of the various Mountain Towns, they intend to hire you as an ’Instructor’ next year to train the County Soldiers!"

"I’m not sure... which invitation should you accept first?"

Lin Zhenhai’s tone grew even more respectful.

Preparing the mountain sacrifice, discussing livelihoods, training as an instructor!

The Bosses of the Eighteen Mountain Towns outside the County proper, the leaders of the Wind and Cloud Association’s three seats of power, and Lord Zhao the County Magistrate’s three great Instructors—these groups encompassed the Mountain Towns, the local professions, and the government Officials. They represented the pinnacle of every walk of life within the five hundred li of Anning County.

And all these people were treating their Boss with the utmost respect, giving him plenty of face!

He had read many biographies of great figures before—unparalleled masters of Martial Arts, young geniuses who rose from a County to a Prefecture, and then on to some Daoist School, a different School, or even a True Sect of a province.

They traveled farther and farther, but the number of heads rolling from their blades also grew and grew. You could say they killed wherever they went, and if you looked around, they had few friends or family left.

How could they compare to his Boss Ji, who was all connections within the County, welcomed and surrounded by supporters wherever he went!

"We’ve just moved, and there’s still much to do. Set these matters aside for now. I’ll handle them and attend the appointments in the next day or two."

"Before that, I need to pay a visit to my Master and Pharmacist Huang of the Wind and Cloud Association."

"Also..."

Ji Xiu looked at Ji Wei, who was driving the carriage and had arrived a while after him, now looking around with curiosity at everything. He also glanced at Jiang Li beside her, and said:

"Your daughter is safe and sound. Master Lin, you can rest assured."

"After the new year, she will go to the Prefecture City to pursue the Martial Dao. You can use this time to have a family reunion."

The moment he spoke,

Lin Zhenhai and Lin Ruyue froze.

And when they saw Ji Wei and Jiang Li step down from the carriage...

their faces filled with a shocked, disbelieving excitement!

"Ruxue!"

"Sister!"

The two had just begun to speak when Ji Xiu walked forward and gave Ji Wei a few gentle instructions.

He then exchanged a look with Jiang Li. Seeing her adopt the expression of ’Lin Ruxue’ and gaze gently at the pair, he brushed past her.

Before coming here, he had asked for Jiang Li’s opinion.

And this mysterious woman had replied with these words:

"I inhabit another’s body, so I must be true to her wishes. I am no Evil Demon and Outsider Dao, so I should naturally allow this young woman to resolve her regrets and re-enter Reincarnation."

"Since I have shouldered this Cause and Effect,"

"what harm is there in acting as Lin Ruxue for a while?"

Those two short sentences deepened Ji Xiu’s impression of the mysterious Jiang Li, giving him a clearer picture of her character.

At the same time, it added a bit to his favorable impression of her.

At the very least,

she was a learned woman who possessed a measure of integrity and moral principle.