"Hey, you there!"

Zhong Li wrapped her head, took off her embroidered shoes, hugged her knees, and lowered her head, saying, "I have been staying in your mansion for a long time, from my uncle to the servants, everyone's luck has worsened.

"Only that child hasn't changed at all, unaffected by bad luck."

It's not Lingyue, right? That's right, if heaven favored her with her aunt's beauty, it would be too pitiful for the little bean... Xu Qi'an said.

"So, my little sister also has great luck?" Xu Qi'an asked.

Zhong Li shook her head slowly. "Those with great luck have deep blessings and benefit everywhere. She is obviously not one of them. She simply has a strong fate and is unaffected by bad luck."

"The luck of the people in the mansion has worsened... I suspect that I haven't found any silver coins these days because of you, right?" Xu Qi'an asked.

Since taking in Zhong Li, Xu Qi'an hasn't found any silver coins.

"I don't know," Zhong Li honestly replied.

"I suddenly had an idea. If Lingyin can be immune to your bad luck, then I will bring her with me when I go out, and I can find silver coins again." Xu Qi'an thought for a moment and proposed, "Let's test it."

"How do we test it?" Zhong Li asked.

"Just wait."

Xu Qi'an immediately went out, took the beloved orchid pot of his aunt, and placed it on the roof of the corridor. Then he walked towards the east wing, listened for a moment, and then knocked on the door, saying:

"Uncle, is Lingyin asleep?"

Confused voice came from the room, "She's making a fuss on the bed, what's the matter?"

"It's nothing. Bring Lingyin out." Xu Qi'an said.

"Okay."

Uncle Xu didn't ask for the reason and carried the little bean out. Xu Qi'an stepped back a few steps consciously. After all, this was Uncle Xu and Aunt's bedroom, and it was late at night. He couldn't stand at the door.

"Big brother..."

Xu Lingyin spread her little arms and instinctively pounced on Xu Qi'an.

Xu Qi'an carried her and walked to the corridor where the potted plant was placed above, and put Xu Lingyin down, saying, "Sit here and eat the pastry. We'll go back after you finish."

Originally, clever Xu Lingyin would find it strange why she had to sit outside to eat, but when she heard that there was food, her already limited intelligence plummeted.

Happily, she replied, "Okay."

So Xu Qi'an placed the little bean on the steps of the corridor, magically took out a pastry, and let her sit there and eat.

"With my bad luck, the potted plant will definitely fall." Zhong Li said softly.

"Yeah." Xu Qi'an nodded.

He was testing Xu Lingyin's blessings. If Zhong Li judged it wrong, it didn't matter. He would knock the potted plant away and prevent the little bean from getting hurt.

A few seconds later, a "thud" came from the roof, and then the potted plant indeed fell.

At this moment, a tangerine cat rushed out from the flower bed, leaped up, and slapped the potted plant away, slapping it towards Xu Qi'an.

Xu Qi'an dodged by turning his head, but Zhong Li didn't dodge...

The potted plant smashed onto Zhong Li's head.

"I knew it would happen like this. I'll go back to my room and bandage the wound." Zhong Li walked away silently.

"Cat, cat..."

Xu Lingyin, with a mouthful of pastry, pointed at the tangerine cat and shouted excitedly.

"Alright, alright, big brother will carry you back to your room to sleep." Xu Qi'an picked up Xu Lingyin and returned to the east wing, handing her over to Uncle Xu, and then reminded Uncle Xu to supervise her brushing her teeth.

Considering that this was Aunt's beloved orchid, Xu Qi'an returned the broken porcelain pieces, orchid, and soil to the hall.

After doing all this, he looked around the backyard and saw the tangerine cat squatting on the edge of the well, looking at him with its amber vertical pupils.

"Taoist Master."

Xu Qi'an approached and greeted.

"What were you doing just now?" The tangerine cat spoke.

"Just a little experiment." Xu Qi'an replied.

The tangerine cat nodded slowly. "The diviner from the Bureau of Heavenly Masters, right?"

"Yeah," Xu Qi'an said, "With Taoist Master's insight, you should be able to see the dark clouds gathering above her head."

"Not just dark clouds, she is a person condemned by heaven..." The tangerine cat raised its paw and stroked its whiskers. "Compared to diviners who leak heavenly secrets, the diviners in the witch system are truly blessed."

"They only need to endure eighty-one hardships to become diviners."

Upon hearing this, Xu Qi'an joked, "And diviners have to endure three thousand six hundred calamities... huh?"

Xu Qi'an suddenly became puzzled and murmured, "Diviner... diviner... isn't it the same as a diviner? Just different names."

Saying that, he looked at Taoist Master Jin Lian for confirmation.

Because of the different names, he didn't connect "diviner" and "diviner" before, but after hearing Taoist Master Jin Lian's words, Xu Qi'an suddenly realized that they seemed to be the same thing, just with different names.

It's like "goddess" and "sea king," different names but doing the same thing: keeping backups and raising fish.The orange cat put down its paws and squatted obediently on the edge of the well. Its appearance was quite cute, but the voice that came out of its mouth was that of an old man: "Heh, it seems you still don't know."

"The sorcerer system has only a history of six hundred years, which is the same as the longevity of the Great Feng Dynasty. But don't you find it strange? The martial system is still perfect to this day, yet there is still no Martial God. The witchcraft, Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism all have thousands of years of history."

"In just six hundred years, the sorcerer system is already so perfect. If it really started from scratch, the First Generation Supervisor must have been an extraordinary genius. How could such a person not be able to surpass the ranks?" Xu Qi'an keenly noticed the inconsistency and asked in confusion, "So, what's going on?"

The orange cat didn't directly answer, but smiled and said, "Let me tell you a story, and you can figure it out yourself."

It licked its paws first and then said, "The founding emperor of the Great Feng Dynasty had a difficult time establishing the dynasty. He was forced to a dead end several times. One year, he went to the northeast to borrow troops from the God of Witchcraft. He promised that if he could overthrow the corrupt court and establish a new dynasty, he would make the God of Witchcraft the state religion."

"The millions of rivers and mountains in the Central Plains would also be included in the territory of the God of Witchcraft. The God of Witchcraft agreed and lent him two hundred thousand elite soldiers and many powerful practitioners from the God of Witchcraft."

"Later, the founding emperor overthrew the corrupt previous dynasty, defeated various vassals, and unified the Central Plains. But the God of Witchcraft did not become the state religion as it had hoped."

"Because the Great Feng Dynasty had the Bureau of Heavenly Masters, and thus the sorcerer system was born."

Xu Qi'an could only think of two words in his mind: "What the hell?!"

Taoist Master Jin Lian's words on the surface were about the dark history of the founding emperor of the Great Feng Dynasty... but it couldn't be considered a dark history. After all, since ancient times, founding emperors were always morally corrupt and unscrupulous. A true gentleman could never achieve such accomplishments... In fact, Taoist Master Jin Lian was revealing the origin of the sorcerer system to him.

The sorcerer system originated from the witchcraft system!

This was Xu Qi'an's judgment based on his nine years of compulsory education and reading comprehension.

No wonder the abilities of "prophets" and "diviners" were so similar.

Moreover, there were similar operations in the martial system and the martial monk system! It was not impossible for the sorcerer system to originate from the witchcraft system... Xu Qi'an suddenly realized.

And from this, he began to associate and diverge his thoughts, suspecting that the First Generation Supervisor was among the witchcraft troops that came to aid the founding emperor back then.

"The sorcerer system originated from the witchcraft system. Although it has the foundation of witchcraft, it is still not easy to create a completely new system. There must be hidden secrets behind this, which only the First Generation Supervisor and the founding emperor of the Great Feng Dynasty know... I suspect it is related to the secrets kept by the Supervisor. This may unveil the mystery of the mysterious sorcerers in Yunzhou."

Xu Qi'an voiced his doubts, hoping that the knowledgeable Taoist Master Jin Lian could enlighten him.

Unfortunately, Taoist Master Jin Lian had no intention of discussing it with Xu Qi'an and pretended not to hear.

He could only ask Wei Yuan or the Crown Princess about this history... Xu Qi'an changed the topic and asked, "Why did the Taoist Master come to find me?"

The orange cat looked at him quietly and after a while, said, "I passed by here and noticed that your fortune has disappeared, so I came to take a look."

After hearing this, Xu Qi'an's first thought was: ???

After a moment, his thought changed to: !!!

He finally realized. No wonder he hadn't found any silver these past few days. It turned out to be because of the First Generation Supervisor's "404 Law."

"But after seeing that girl, I understand the reason," the orange cat said.

Did Taoist Master Jin Lian think that Zhong Li's bad luck had offset my fortune? Xu Qi'an didn't explain and remained silent.

He was not interested in receiving liquid transmission from an old Taoist.

...

After bidding farewell to Taoist Master Jin Lian, Xu Qi'an entered the house with a gloomy expression and stared at Zhong Li without saying a word.

This woman had bandages wrapped around her head and face, looking pitiful. She noticed Xu Qi'an's change in attitude and whispered, "What did that Taoist expert say to you?"

"It's none of your business."

"Oh." She lowered her head slightly.

But Xu Qi'an didn't let her off easily and angrily said, "I used to find silver every day, you know."

"I didn't know, but I can understand," Zhong Li honestly replied.

"But because of you, the Supervisor kept me in the capital and blocked part of my fortune." Xu Qi'an judged that it was only part of his fortune based on the fact that he could still protect Zhong Li from disasters.

"I'm sorry..." Zhong Li apologized, feeling ashamed.

"Is saying sorry useful? I lose millions every day... You have to compensate me," Xu Qi'an said angrily.

"I, I don't have any silver." Zhong Li lowered her head in embarrassment.

"If you don't have any silver, then sleep with me. My bed is sturdy and won't collapse."

...

The next morning, Xu Qi'an woke up refreshed and extremely satisfied. The bed didn't collapse.

This has nothing to do with Zhong Li. What he said last night was just angry words. Although he was heartbroken by the actions of the supervisor, he never thought of making Zhong Li experience the pain of being broken.

This woman has suffered enough. Xu Qi'an's conscience does not allow him to harm her.

However, when Zhong Li promised to give him two magical tools as compensation, Xu Qi'an was instantly happy and slept soundly.

After washing up, he went to the front hall to have breakfast and heard the crying of Xiaodouding from afar.

Stepping over the threshold and entering the house, Xu Lingyin was being pressed on a stool by her aunt, waving a chicken feather duster and spanking her little buttocks.

Xu Ershu, Xu Lingyue, and Xu Erlang continued to eat without changing their expressions, ignoring the crying of their sister (daughter), and only focusing on the porridge, buns, and dishes.

When Xu Qi'an saw an injustice, he shouted, "Stop!"

His aunt ignored her nephew. She was beating her own daughter and didn't care about this kid.

"Aunt, you've gone too far," Xu Qi'an snatched the chicken feather duster and said, "Lingyin is still young, you can't hit her like this."

"A big pot..."

This "big pot" shout was heartfelt, giving a feeling of calling one's own father.

"Big brother," Xu Lingyue explained, "Mom's beloved orchid was broken and couldn't be kept alive. Mom suspects that Lingyin broke it."

Xu Qi'an returned the chicken feather duster to his aunt and patted her back, saying, "Education should be done early. If you don't discipline her now, it will be too late. Aunt, you're doing a good job, please continue."

"Waaah..." Xu Lingyin cried sadly.

Indeed, she was an unfortunate child, relying solely on her fate.

............

As more and more people from the martial arts world poured into the capital, the public security in the capital plummeted. In order to solve this problem, Wei Yuan came up with a solution.

He ordered people to build four sturdy marble platforms in the northeast, southeast, northwest, and southwest of the outer city, named "Hero Platform".

Find the original at "pawread.com".

It was specifically used for resolving disputes among those martial artists who would say, "What are you looking at?" or "What are you going to do about it?" People from all over the country flocked to the Hero Platform. If they had enemies in the capital, they would jump onto the platform and shout, "XXX, dare you come up for a fight? If you don't come, you're a coward."

If XXX heard this, they would come to fight the next day.

With this platform for martial artists to resolve conflicts, there was no need to worry about ordinary people being affected. It also provided entertainment for the people of the capital, stimulating local food and beverage consumption...

"Wei Yuan is indeed capable and can achieve political achievements," Xu Qi'an nodded secretly, continuing to listen to Xu Ershu's stories about patrolling the city.

In addition, the young martial artists without grudges would also go up to the platform in groups to learn from each other and gain fame. The female martial artists were not interested in performing on the platform, but were more interested in socializing with famous martial artists and attending banquets.

They were enthusiastic about finding opportunities to associate with the high-ranking officials and scholars in the capital.

From this, it can be seen that what men and women pursue is completely different.

Men pursue fame, while women pursue a shortcut to fame.

Because there were so many seductive women outside, Xu Ershu ordered Xu Erlang not to go out unless necessary, to prevent those rude female martial artists from lusting after him.

Xu Erlang obediently stayed at home, leaving those female demons to his father... Xu Qi'an grasped the core meaning of Xu Ershu's words.

"Ershu, are there any famous female martial artists who have come to the capital?"

After Xu Qi'an finished speaking, seeing the expressions of his sister and aunt, he immediately added, "I'm just being cautious."

His aunt and sister looked at Xu Ershu again, and Xu Ershu frowned and complained, "How could I possibly know about this kind of thing? Am I someone who pays attention to these matters?"

Xu Xinnian looked at his older brother and father's performance and sneered, "Huh."

After finishing breakfast, the uncle and nephew went out together, brought their horses, and Xu Ershu touched the little mare and sighed, "Since following you, it seems to be getting more spirited."

"It's because it's been nourished," Xu Qi'an replied.

"Hmm?" Xu Ershu expressed confusion.

"The food at the Nightwatcher's office is good. They feed them with high-quality feed, barley, soybeans, eggs, and coarse salt," Xu Qi'an explained.

Upon hearing this, Xu Ershu immediately became envious and said, "Then let's switch. Send my horse to the Nightwatcher's office to improve its diet."

Xu Qi'an waved his hand repeatedly, "I won't switch horses."

"Ershu, let's talk about the female martial artists," Xu Qi'an was particularly concerned about the female martial artists, probably due to his past experiences in the martial arts world.

Speaking of this, Xu Ershu listed them one by one, "It is said that there are countless beautiful female martial artists in the capital now, but the most outstanding ones are four. They are the daughter of the Lord of Luyan Sword Pavilion, known as the 'Butterfly Sword'. She not only has strong cultivation, but also a beautiful appearance.

"Li Qingyang from the Hongxiang Tower, nicknamed 'Seductive Hand'. According to colleagues, she is simply a seductive fox spirit. No man can resist her charm."

Seductive Hand?!

Is it the same Seductive Hand that I understand? Does it mean "tempting, tempting, tempting"?"Another one is the Thousand-Faced Female Bandit. No one knows what she looks like, but it's said that she's an expert in disguise, always appearing as a stunning beauty."

Generally speaking, such descriptions usually refer to an ugly woman.

"The last one is even more remarkable, a renowned female swordsman who wields twin blades, a disciple of the Thunder State Twin Blade Sect." Uncle Xu tutted:

"What a gallant heroine. If I were twenty years younger... I would still choose your aunt."

Xu Qi'an nodded, thinking to himself that his uncle still loved his aunt very much. He patted his uncle on the shoulder and said, "Leave those heroines to your twenty-year-old nephew."

Upon arriving at the yamen, after checking in, Xu Qi'an practiced his cultivation at the familiar Silver Gong Minshan's hall for half an hour. Then he planned to take his two subordinates to patrol the streets—the Chunfeng Hall had been burned down and was not yet rebuilt.

"Boss, where are we going to patrol?"

"Do you know where the heroines usually appear?" Xu Qi'an asked.

"Of course, it's the Hero's Platform. The four arenas in the east, south, west, and north are bustling now. Many people from the inner city are rushing to the outer city to watch the excitement."

"Alright, let's go to the Hero's Platform in the south city today." Xu Qi'an made a decision.

Just as he stepped out of the yamen, he saw a horse galloping towards him. The guard on the horse was wearing court attire, a guard from Lin'an.

"Lord Xu!"

Upon seeing Xu Qi'an, the guard was overjoyed. He abruptly pulled the reins and stopped.

"Lord Xu, the Second Prince requests your immediate presence in the palace."

"What's the matter?" Xu Qi'an asked calmly.

"The Second Prince said it's a matter of life and death, and her life is in your hands," the guard said solemnly.

"???"

While instructing his subordinates to fetch a horse, Xu Qi'an asked, "Has something happened in the palace?"

......

PS: Update first, revise later.