The next day, before dawn, Old Smoky was already pacing impatiently in the courtyard, waiting for the sunrise.

 

He waited for a good half an hour before finally seeing the glow of dawn light up the eastern sky.

 

Today, Old Smoky had changed into a clean set of clothes, and unusually, he did not carry his pipe with him. He had warned his son not to come to the backyard before noon.

 

In the center of the courtyard, there was a stone he had found elsewhere, as big as a hunting dog's head.

 

Originally, he wanted to find a stone as big as a millstone, but considering it was his first time casting a spell, he didn't want to be too greedy, so he didn't do so.

 

After adjusting his clothes, as Yuan Ming had instructed, he first lit a stick of incense in the east.

 

Then, Old Smoky began to walk around the courtyard, following the steps Yuan Ming had shown him the day before, muttering words under his breath, and paying respects to the four directions of heaven and earth.

 

After making a round, he came to the chosen stone, placed both hands on it, closed his eyes, and prayed sincerely.

 

A moment later, he took a deep breath, slowly opened his eyes, and anticipated the miracle.

 

However, the stone under his hand did not glow with golden light, it was still dark and dirty.

 

"Did I fail?"

 

Old Smoky felt a buzz in his head, his vision suddenly darkened, and he almost fainted.

 

He barely managed to steady his mind, but he was still somewhat dazed.

 

"The immortal master wouldn't lie to me, there must be something wrong… Yes, yes, I must have messed up the steps… Let's try again," Old Smoky muttered in a daze, and immediately started casting the spell again.

 

After repeating the ceremony, the result, of course, was still a failure.

 

The stone was still a stone, it didn't turn into gold.

 

Old Smoky looked around, then at himself, and suddenly slapped his forehead.

 

"The immortal master said he was naked at the time, that's right, it must be because my clothes are too luxurious, no different from gold and silver treasures," Old Smoky muttered to himself, and stripped himself naked.

 

"This time it must work," he silently encouraged himself, completely forgetting Yuan Ming's warning that there was only one chance.

 

If it didn't work the first time, it would never work.

 

Old Smoky couldn't care less about this now, if he failed, it meant he would lose everything.

 

He couldn't afford to lose.

 

At this moment, Old Smoky, naked and with dark skin, looked like a monkey in the mountains, ridiculous and funny.

 

He repeated the doomed-to-fail ceremony, and once again paid respects to heaven and earth.

 

However, when he opened his eyes, all his hopes were once again shattered, the stone was still a stone.

 

"How could this be…" Old Smoky slumped to the ground, unable to accept it.

 

But just then, there was a sudden commotion in the front yard.

 

Immediately after, Old Smoky saw his son, running in from outside.

 

"You little bastard, didn't I tell you not to come to the backyard before noon?" Old Smoky roared in anger.

 

Seeing his father's naked figure, Tule was also stunned.

 

Old Smoky picked up his clothes from the ground, but before he could put them on, he saw seven or eight burly men in black rushing in.

 

"What are you trying to do?" Old Smoky hurriedly tied his belt and scolded.

 

After scolding, he realized that all these men were the thugs from the Lucky Gambling House.

 

"Dad, they insisted on breaking in, saying they were here to take over the shop, I… I couldn't stop them," Tule said with a mournful face.

 

"You know the relationship between me and your boss, right?" Old Smoky softened his expression, puffed out his chest, and asked.

 

As soon as his words fell, a hearty laughter came from outside.

 

"Old Smoky, no matter how good our relationship is, we still have to settle accounts clearly, right? This shop of yours is now mine," You Zhuzha walked in from outside, waving a paper with a seal on it, which was clearly a property deed.

 

"What did you say?" Old Smoky was stunned at his words, his eyes full of disbelief.

 

You Zhuzha took out a few more papers from his sleeve and said:

 

"I said, your grocery store and inn, and those pieces of land, are all mine now. You should move out of my inn before noon."

 

Old Smoky walked shakily to You Zhuzha, took a close look, and found that the property deeds in his hand were indeed his own.

 

He felt a surge of blood rush to his head, and his eyes were instantly filled with bloodshot.

 

"No, it's not true, you're lying to me…" Old Smoky lost his mind in an instant, and reached out to grab the property deeds in You Zhuzha's hand.

 

You Zhuzha dodged to the side in advance.

 

The surrounding thugs immediately rushed up and held Old Smoky up.

 

"Refusing a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit, take him out," You Zhuzha waved his hand, then walked into the backyard and looked around.

 

The young man yesterday had exchanged these houses and lands with him at a very fair price, with only one condition, that he must come to collect the house after sunrise today.

He made a fortune from this deal, and naturally, he had no reason to refuse such a harmless little request.

 

……

 

In a back alley outside the main street of Iron Tiger Town, Old Pipe and his family of three sat on the stone steps of someone else's house, their faces gloomy and full of bitterness.

 

The old woman who had always been in charge of the grocery store was still confused. How did their shop and fields suddenly become someone else's property?

 

Old Pipe hadn't recovered from the previous shock, looking lost and disoriented.

 

He was extremely annoyed by the old woman's constant questioning, and the resentment in his heart was hard to swallow.

 

Suddenly, Old Pipe stood up, his eyes fixed on the courtyard wall in front of him, and he rushed towards it.

 

Fortunately, his son was quick to react and grabbed his clothes, pulling him back.

 

Tule held Old Pipe tightly, repeatedly shouting, "Father, no, you can't die."

 

"We've lost everything, what's the point of living…" Old Pipe wailed in pain.

 

"Father, I still have money, I still have money, we can still survive." Tule hurriedly shouted.

 

Hearing this, both Old Pipe and the old woman were stunned.

 

Seeing that his father had stopped struggling, Tule quickly took out a cloth bag from his sleeve and poured out ten shiny silver coins.

 

"Father, you always keep a tight grip on our money. This is the private money I've saved." He scratched his head a bit embarrassedly.

 

"Oh my, what a good son…" The old woman almost cried out.

 

Old Pipe, however, was frozen in place.

 

After a long while, he slapped the silver coins out of Tule's hand with a bitter expression, and slumped to the ground.

 

"So it was you… son, you've ruined me, it's all your fault…"

 

Old Pipe was heartbroken, crawling on the ground, wailing incessantly.

 

……

 

By this time, Yuan Ming had long since left Iron Tiger Town.

 

Old Pipe was just a minor incident he encountered when he came down the mountain. The most important thing at the moment was to find the fragrance.

 

Following the directions given by the casino owner, he left Iron Tiger Town and traveled north for about twenty or thirty miles, a rather tall mountain appeared in front of him.

 

According to the map Yuan Ming bought in the town, he knew this mountain was called "Nine Li Mountain", named for the nine li journey from the foot to the top of the mountain. There was a rather large temple in the mountain hollow, called "Nine Li Temple".

 

As Yuan Ming walked on the mountain path, he found that the people of Southern Border who came to burn incense were endless. From a distance, he could smell the scent of incense and candles.

 

"It must be here!" Yuan Ming muttered to himself, blending into the crowd of worshippers and stepping into the temple.

 

The Nine Li Temple was quite large, with four or five courtyards. Many of the walls were mottled, showing their age.

 

After passing through two gates, Yuan Ming crossed a bustling square and arrived at the main hall. Inside the hall stood a tall statue, black all over, with a human body and a dog's head. It held a long sword in its right hand and a strange fan in its left, howling at the sky.

 

The worshippers came forward one by one, knelt before the statue, burned incense and prayed, the smoke from the incense curling up.

 

Listening to the crowd for a moment, Yuan Ming basically figured out that this human-bodied, dog-headed deity was called "Dog Tooth God".

 

During his time in the Southern Border searching for fragrances, he had gained some understanding of the local deities. The five tribes of the Northern Territory each had their own deities to worship. The residents near Nine Li Mountain were mostly of the Kas tribe, and this temple was dedicated to the Kas tribe's "Dog Tooth God".

 

The statue in this temple was said to be very effective in granting wishes, and was deeply revered by the people in the surrounding area, with incense burning year after year.

 

Yuan Ming followed the crowd, offered a bundle of incense to the Dog Tooth God, and donated a handful of copper coins to the box next to it.

 

"Thank you, benefactor. The Dog Tooth God will bless you with peace and health." A temple keeper next to him bowed to Yuan Ming.

 

This man was quite tall, with long hands and feet, and calluses on his tiger's mouth, as if he had practiced swordsmanship.

 

"Thank you, temple keeper. I came here today not only to worship the Dog Tooth God, but also to ask for a favor. I wonder if it's convenient?" Yuan Ming returned the bow and said.

 

As he spoke, he took out ten copper coins and quietly slipped them into the temple keeper's pocket.

 

The temple keeper's eyebrows raised slightly in a smile, and he said ambiguously, "Helping others is helping oneself."

 

"May I have a word with you?" Yuan Ming looked at the endless stream of worshippers and asked.

 

The temple keeper made a gesture of invitation and led Yuan Ming to a corner.

 

"What can I do for you, benefactor? Please speak directly." The temple keeper said.

 

"I'm looking for a man named Wu Sang. If you know where he is, could you tell me?" Yuan Ming asked.

 

"I've never heard of the person you mentioned in the temple." The temple keeper thought for a moment and then said.

 

"That man came here about half a year ago. He's in his thirties, has a square face and big ears, and is particularly good at making incense. He may have hidden his name. I hope you can recall him. I will be very grateful." As Yuan Ming spoke, he took out a silver coin and tried to give it to the temple keeper."I have been in this temple for three or four years now, from the abbot to the young monks, I am familiar with everyone. I have indeed never seen the person you mentioned. I suggest you ask elsewhere." This time, the temple keeper subtly sidestepped Yuan Ming's attempt to give him a silver coin, apologized, and then turned to leave.

 

Yuan Ming watched the temple keeper's retreating figure, slowly returned to the entrance of the main hall, and looked around thoughtfully. He then turned and walked towards the square. As he turned a corner, a black crow flew out from him, heading towards the eaves of the main hall.

 

Yuan Ming didn't stop, he headed straight towards a side hall not far away.

 

This place was for the pilgrims to have tea. Yuan Ming found an empty seat and sat down, picked up the teapot and cup on the table, and started drinking by himself.

 

(End of Chapter)