It was impossible to fix Ji Yuan's door, so he thoughtfully took down Deng Yunliang's door and installed it on his own house.
He then threw a few broken planks into Deng Yunliang's yard, making it look as if someone had broken and entered.
As for the investigation... the Water Dragon Sect only investigates those with families or who are not entirely wiped out, like solitary individuals such as Ji Yuan or Deng Yunliang.
Most likely, the Water Dragon Sect would just mutter a phrase about showing respect for the deceased.
The three gamblers together contributed only 5 Spirit Stones, let alone the elixirs or talismans, they were utter paupers.
Ji Yuan could easily imagine that if they had any savings, they'd immediately invest them in the gambling den.
So, the only valuable item was that bronze magical artifact nail.
But for Ji Yuan, that thing was a nuisance; with his current cultivation and spiritual power, manipulating the Black Gold Saber and Fatal Needle was quite enough.
So when he got to Zengtou City, his first move was to exchange the magical artifact for some Spirit Stones.
It fetched only a modest price of 20 Spirit Stones.
Then Ji Yuan went to buy some talisman paper and Half-Spirit Fish. By the time he got back home after his errands, he found Lin Hu and his wife had returned early as well.
Both of them had a hint of undisguisable joy in their eyes.
"Brother Ji, you went to Zengtou City, huh."
Lin Hu leaned in and gestured towards Deng Yunliang's house, whispering, "Looks like his house got broken into."
"Oh?"
Ji Yuan turned to look, feigning surprise, "It really is."
"I figured as much; those gambling addicts are like that. Once they can't repay their debts, they think of going to someone else's house to take things to cover it."
Lin Hu sneered, seemingly forgetting that just days ago, he was much like Deng Yunliang, a gambling addict himself.
"Will you gamble again in the future?"
Behind them, Wu Qin, also seemingly in a good mood, glanced at Lin Hu with a cold snort.
"I won't gamble, never again."
Lin Hu chuckled, then quickly turned to Ji Yuan, "Brother Ji, just wait, I can return the Spirit Stones to you soon."
"Spirit Stones? There's no rush."
Even if Lin Hu didn't mention it, Ji Yuan had almost forgotten about it.
Just two Spirit Stones, he could earn them back by painting a Water-Resistant Talisman—easy enough.
But Lin Hu insisted, gave Wu Qin a smile, and immediately dashed off to Zengtou City.
Seeing him like this, Ji Yuan guessed he must have lucked into something beneficial.
Sure enough, Ji Yuan had just settled back home when Lin Hu, panting heavily, knocked on his courtyard door and handed over two Spirit Stones with both hands.
"Thank you, Brother Ji."
Seeing Ji Yuan accept the Spirit Stones, Lin Hu formally bowed again.
"No worries."
Seeing Lin Hu's family getting back on their feet, Ji Yuan felt a bit of happiness himself.
Just as Ji Yuan was about to turn and head back, he noticed Lin Hu looked like he had something more to say.
"What is it? Just say it if there's something on your mind."
"It's just…" Lin Hu scratched his head, "Didn't you used to have a good relationship with the Lu family?"
"Lu family? Which Lu family?"
Just as Ji Yuan asked, he remembered, "Lu Wan?"
"Yeah, that's the one."
"What's going on with them?"
The last time Ji Yuan saw Lu Wan was at the Hundred Treasures Tower, and she was there with Wu Yan.
To Ji Yuan, she was somewhat of a friend, so hearing Lin Hu mention her, he couldn't help but feel a bit concerned.
"I just heard someone in Zengtou City talking about her, saying she had fallen out with the Wu family. Someone heard Master Wu Wenbin calling her ungrateful."
"Why would that be?"
Lu Wan was always Master Wu Wenbin's prized disciple, even considering bringing her into the Water Dragon Sect. What could have caused this?
"I'm not exactly sure either."
"Heard that Master Wu wanted Lu Wan to become Dao companions with his son, but Lu Wan refused no matter what, and that's how it ended up like this."
Lin Hu shook his head with a puzzled expression, "Being Master Wu's daughter-in-law, what's there to refuse?"
Ji Yuan reflected on his past interactions.
It did seem a bit like that; at the time, Wu Yan looked at Lu Wan with deep affection, but Lu Wan was always polite to him.
But… for Lu Wan to dare to refuse in person, that was something Ji Yuan hadn't expected.
The Lu family only had Lu Song at the fifth level of Qi Cultivation, not even at the late stages, and in front of the Wu family, even reaching the late stages would mean little.
Wu Wenbin could already paint first-tier superior talismans, not to mention he himself was at the late stages of Qi Cultivation.
Faced with such disparity, yet Lu Wan dared to refuse upfront…
She certainly has some spirit.
But in this matter, there wasn't much Ji Yuan could do to help; he could only hope the Wu family wouldn't act too harshly.
Lin Hu, having acquired some prized thing, cheerfully went back home.
Lastly, Ji Yuan glanced at Deng Yunliang's adjacent courtyard; with this event over, he closed his own gate and continued on his path of cultivation.
The day after Deng Yunliang's death, Lin Hu came to share good news.
He successfully ascended to the third level of Qi Cultivation.
On the same day, Wu Qin also advanced to the third level of Qi Cultivation.
At this point, Lin Hu confessed the truth to Ji Yuan; it turns out, while fishing at Cloud Rain Marsh, he inadvertently discovered an Earth Treasure, the "Jade Lotus Root."
He sold it at Zengtou City for a fair price of 30 Spirit Stones.
These Spirit Stones not only solved their immediate crisis but also allowed them both to advance to the third level of Qi Cultivation.
With both husband and wife at the third level, they could catch more Half-Spirit Fish when they next set sail, ensuring a steady stream of income.
Ji Yuan offered his congratulations but politely declined their invitation to dinner.
Though the days of arduous cultivation were hard to bear, Ji Yuan's life was immensely fulfilling—cultivating, consuming Spirit Eggs, resting during the day, painting talismans, and contemplating other basic techniques.
Five days after Deng Yunliang's death.
A new family moved into that courtyard, unlike the solitary Old Man Huang and Deng Yunliang before; this time, it was a family of three.
A young couple with an adorable daughter.
Ji Yuan had no intention of getting to know them deeply; they exchanged pleasantries and he continued his seclusion.
Ever since Deng Yunliang's death, Ji Yuan's life had stabilized.
It made sense; he wasn't one to cause trouble, lived a reclusive life, never even visiting Cloud Rain Marsh, making it difficult to stir up any trouble.
And even the one big incident he was involved in, Qiu Qianhai took the blame alone.
He was like a bystander, hidden away in the small market of Zengtou City, silently cultivating.
Time flowed by, the sun rose and set.
Three months passed in the blink of an eye, even Cloud Rain Marsh was a picture of frost-stricken, withered lotuses, and most of Zengtou City's fishermen entered winter hibernation mode.
If not for the exorbitant expenses in the Immortal Residence, they wouldn't set sail again.
After consuming three Spirit Dolphins, Ji Yuan no longer felt the cold, but to blend in appropriately, he donned a thick coat.
On that day, in the morning sun, he visited a shop in Zengtou City named "Hidden Treasure Pavilion."
While the markets outside were dangerous, some powerful cultivators formed caravans to trade between various markets.
The Hidden Treasure Pavilion was backed by one such caravan.
A gray-haired female cultivator greeted Ji Yuan inside, but he still smiled and addressed her as "Sister Wang."
"Sister Wang, has the Centennial Paulownia Wood arrived?" Ji Yuan asked with a smile.
"It's here, it's here; our caravan made a special trip to Jing'an Market yesterday to purchase some Centennial Paulownia Wood just for Daoist Ji."
Darn, she talks a good game… Ji Yuan watched as she took a piece of wood emitting strong Wood Attribute Spiritual Qi from her storage bag, measuring it a bit.
Though small, it was enough to be cut into planks to build a chicken cage.
Over these three months, Ji Yuan, aside from cultivating, had asked many in Zengtou City to seek out Centennial Paulownia Wood, Corpsebloom, and Cold Iron Sand.
He had gradually collected one pound of Cold Iron Sand.
There was still no news of Corpsebloom.
The Centennial Paulownia Wood, however, was found today.
"Thanks for your help, Sister Wang, so regarding the price..."
"Just go with what we agreed on last time," Sister Wang said with a cheerful smile.
Ji Yuan relaxed internally, then paid 20 Spirit Stones and took the Centennial Paulownia Wood.
Upon returning, the first Level 2 construction would finally come into existence.