sjar Chapter 158 Printing
Chapter 158 Printing
That evening, Chen An and Wu Siyue went down the mountain.
When the Ichiwa Sect was first built, it was surrounded by dense forests and mountains, and there were no other houses around.
Over the decades, more than a hundred shops have sprung up around the area.
Unlike the shops at the foot of Zhaoningzong Mountain, the shops here are magnificent and imposing.
Wu Siyue pulled Chen An to the front of the restaurant. Before they even went inside, the waiter had already bowed and greeted them.
He turned his head and called out into the house, "Elder Wu, what a great honor to have you here!" He even deliberately drew out the last syllable.
The shop was doing good business, with disciples of the Yihe Sect coming and going. Even at night, there were rarely any empty seats.
"The same as always?" Upon hearing the boy's voice, the shopkeeper clasped his hands in greeting and came out. He first bowed to Wu Siyue, then nodded to Chen An.
Chen An smiled calmly. The shopkeeper was at the intermediate level of the Yin-Yang realm. If he went to a small sect, becoming an elder would not be a problem.
It's really strange that someone would come here just to be a shop owner.
Wu Siyue seemed to sense Chen An's doubts and said to the shopkeeper, "Please add two meat dishes and go downstairs first."
After seeing the shopkeeper off, he explained to Chen An, "Most of the shopkeepers at the foot of the mountain are cultivators. At first, I found it strange, but after asking around, I learned that most of these shopkeepers were sent by families of cultivators."
"Two miles to the east, there are hundreds of thousands of demonic cultivators living there. Ordinary people are scared away just by hearing the name of demonic cultivators, let alone making a living here."
“That’s true.” Chen An picked up the menu on the table, his gaze lingering on the prices for a long time, and said, “Why don’t we invite some commoners to open a shop? A cup of green tea costs five low-grade spirit stones. Why don’t they just rob us?”
Wu Siyue took the menu and glanced at the diners: "I've wanted to do this for a long time."
"Tch, hindsight is 20/20." Chen An didn't really want to scold him, but his serious expression suggested that this problem had been bothering him for a long time.
"Here it comes." Four waiters stood in a row, smiling and staring into the distance. They waited for a man in a brown robe to come forward, set out the dishes, and then turned and left in unison.
Chen An suppressed a laugh throughout, feeling as if he were enjoying an absurd and bizarre ritual.
After the others had walked away, he said, "Is this punishment for not properly fasting?"
Wu Siyue smiled and picked up a piece of beef: "Putting aside the unpleasantness of the food being served, it's really delicious."
After pausing for a while, she said, "You asked me to come out, surely it wasn't just to have dinner together?"
"Come with me to the book distributors and tell them to only distribute the ones that praise me," Chen An said solemnly.
“What’s the difference between this and hiring someone to write a story praising you?” Wu Siyue stared at Chen An with a serious expression. “Alright, stop joking. Who but a narcissist would do this?”
"Cough cough."
"No, you're serious?" Wu Siyue put down his chopsticks, pointed at Chen An, and slapped the table while laughing, causing many people in the store to frown.
Chen An's face darkened, and he silently ate his food with his head down.
After losing his composure, Wu Siyue learned how to be a well-mannered person and asked in a low voice, "There must be a reason, right?"
"The reason is that everyone hates me."
"Who said that? I don't dislike you."
"I know, but everyone hates me except you."
"Fugui, Chenmingde, and Xile don't dislike you."
"I know, I know!" Chen An regretted bringing Wu Siyue along.
He had assumed that since he was in charge of receiving guests at the sect, persuading the person who had spoken to speak wouldn't be a problem.
But what if this intelligence makes him a liability?
However, his words did warm Chen An's heart.
"Fine, since you want to, let's do it." Wu Siyue picked up a piece of meat, ate it fiercely, and nodded with his cheeks puffed out.
……
Most of the stories that smear Chen An were published from one place, which wasn't exactly close by.
Without using a teleportation array, it would take Wu Siyue two days at full speed.
At first, Wu Siyue wondered why Chen An didn't use a teleportation array, but later he found out.
Along the way, Chen An would inquire about any elderly people or children who were alone, and whenever he had the opportunity to do a good deed, he would add, "I am Chen An, the head of the Yihe Sect."
When encountering tyrannical thugs, she would wait until a crowd gathered before beating them up and escorting them to the city lord's mansion, making sure everyone knew her identity.
At times like this, Wu Siyue's face would burn.
It's not that I don't support Chen An doing good deeds, but doing it so deliberately is really a bit over the top.
After finally arriving at the printing place, a tall, upright plaque hung on a pillar over twenty meters high, with large, bright gold characters proclaiming: "Printing Books."
It's simple and clear, so you don't have to worry about others not finding it when they come here.
Pushing open the door, I saw more than thirty young men with their mouths and noses covered, busy at work. They picked up square sheets of paper, laid them vertically on the ink-stained wooden board, and printed a page in just a second or two.
Before long, a long-haired woman came to greet them.
She took off her scarf and smiled gently: "What would you two like to have printed?"
"I'm not printing anything, I have something to discuss." Chen An took her hand, which was hanging by her side, and shook it up and down a few times before gently letting go.
The long-haired woman was confused by her shaking.
Thinking to myself, "It's our first meeting, and she's squeezing my hand so hard. She must have ill intentions."
But he still smiled and had a stool brought over.
The three sat around the round table that had been split in half. Chen An spoke first: "I am Chen An, the head of the Yihe Sect. I wish to..."
"Who are you?!"
The long-haired woman stood up abruptly, staring at Chen An's confident expression, her hand trembling as she pointed at him.
The workers stopped what they were doing, as if they were frozen in place, only their eyes could move, constantly glancing this way.
Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit serious, Wu Siyue quickly tried to smooth things over.
He stood up and helped the long-haired woman sit down, saying gently, "We're not bad people. If we really wanted to do something bad, why would we need to discuss it with you, right?"
"Yes, yes, yes." The woman swallowed, as if she had thought of something, and called out to the people behind her, "You guys go back first, I have something to talk about."
Chen An raised an eyebrow, a sense of respect rising in his heart.
It's rare to see someone in this situation still thinking about saving others.
Anyway, she herself could never reach that level.
After everyone had left, the woman stood up, placed her hands on the table, and said condescendingly, "My name is Jinshu, my surname is Wen. If you have a problem, come at me."
However, her voice was still trembling.
Chen An tried his best to force a friendly smile: "Jinshu, I had someone check, most of those books that smear me were published by you."
"I came here to show you that I'm a good person."
Wen Jinshu coughed twice, putting on an imposing air: "I, I know you're a good person. You, you can leave."
"I'm not leaving. I haven't shown you yet that I'm a good person."
"I believe you now." Wen Jinshu turned around and sat down on the table.
It felt like a matter of life and death.
But when he saw a splash of orange, his expression suddenly changed.
After thinking for a long time, he slowly turned around.
Chen An smiled and glanced at the pile of miscellaneous items belonging to the Tibetans.
"If you don't trust me, then let her go too."
"Bold demonic cultivator, watch me rid the people of this scourge!"
The boy in the orange gauze robe jumped out, holding a sword in one hand in front of his chest. He quickly took a few steps, shielding Wen Jinshu behind him, and stared sharply at Chen An.
Chen An beckoned with his finger, and the boy's sword flew to the top of her head: "Little girl, you're only at the initial stage of the Qi Refining Realm, how dare you rush up here? Aren't you afraid of dying?"
"Pah." The boy sneered disdainfully, raised his hand to grasp the hilt of the sword, and tried to pull the sword off.
“I have a name and surname. I am Zhou Jun, the third-generation successor of the Bai Nian Sect. I am not some little girl. Watch how powerful this old lady is.”