I Just Won't Play By The Book

As a seasoned Iron Seal, Jiang Beiran had been to many villages and towns near the Sect of Returning Hearts. However, they did not include Jifu Village, which was where they were going this time.

Although Jiang Beiran had not been there, he had written down all the information concerning the surrounding villages and towns.

Jifu Village was considered one of the more populous villages in the Rivernorth region, with a total of more than 1200 households in the village and a population of more than 7500 people. Many households had four or five children.

In this era with no surveillance, child theft could be said to be happening every day. The local government simply could not deal with the large number of cases, and official documents regarding missing children had been stacked up in several piles in a warehouse to collect dust.

So, most of the time the government welcomed the sect disciples coming out of the mountains and performing acts of chivalry. As long as they did not take things too far, the officials would turn a blind eye.

…

After planning the route and bringing the things required, Jiang Beiran's team of adventurers officially set off towards the foot of the mountain.

After descending the mountain, Jiang Beiran found that the five Sisters were unusually excited, looking around as if everything was new.

But fortunately, Jiang Beiran had already established a firm enough authority, so the five girls were not too reckless.

As practitioners of cultivation, they all could travel much faster on foot than ordinary people. It took them just one hour to cross the prairie and arrive at the first stop Jiang Beiran had planned, which was Luoxia Town.

Before entering the town, Jiang Beiran once again reminded the five Sisters not to wander around. The five women nodded repeatedly and said yes with very sincere expressions. Only then did Jiang Beiran nod and bring them into the town together.

"Yo!! Persimmons from tall trees! Not sour or bitter at all!! Exchangeable if found otherwise!"

"Radish and pears!! Exchangeable goods!"

"Heyyo, honey!! Candied haws!"

It was dusk, the liveliest time on the streets. Each vendor was trying their best to sell their goods by yelling over the others.

"Rice, millet, cowpeas, and mung beans! Porridge made from white rice flour!!! Sugar buns and pea buns!"

Finally, after hearing the calls from the vendors, Yu Guimiao could no longer control her yearning and shouted, "Excuse me, Sir!"

"Speak," Jiang Beiran answered.

"I want to eat that pea bun," Yu Guimiao said as she pointed at the stall full of bamboo steam drawers.

"Okay. How many do you want?" Jiang Beiran asked as he nodded his head.

Hearing Jiang Bei Ran agree so readily, Yu Guimiao couldn't help but be surprised. She had thought that the Brother, who had always seemed to be a stickler for rules, would definitely not agree, or that even if he did that it wouldn't be so easy.

‘Actually, the Brother is still a fairly reasonable person most of the time,' she thought.

Feeling regret in her heart, Yu Guimiao raised two slender fingers and said, "Two would be good."

"What about you all? Do you want some?" Jiang Beiran looked back at the other Sisters and asked.

The two remaining Sisters of the Yu family immediately said they also wanted some. Liu Zijin followed and said that she wanted to try it. Only Fang Qiuyao did not say a word.

Jiang Beiran nodded after collecting their answers. He then walked to the stall and asked, "Boss, how much for a pea bun?"

Seeing a customer approach, the owner of the stall happily lifted a steam drawer and said, "Freshly baked hot pea buns, one penny each."

"Alright. Give me eight." Jiang Beiran took a blue money pouch from his waist and counted out eight coins then handed them to the boss.

Because the storage ring could only be used by cultivators, in order to keep a low profile, Jiang Beiran did not want to use the ring in front of others and show off. For this reason, he had on him all the backpacks and hanging cloth bags that one would expect a traveler to have.

"Alright! Eight pea buns!" the boss yelled after receiving the money. He then wrapped the eight buns with a lotus leaf, showing well-practiced skill. He handed them to Jiang Beiran and said, "Mister, hold it well. Do come back again if you find it delicious!"

Nodding, Jiang Beiran took the lotus leaf packet and walked back to the five Sisters.

Yu Guimiao took off the Seared Cloth and sniffed then said with anticipation, "Wow, it smells so good." After saying that, she wanted to reach out and grab them.

But Jiang Beiran raised his right hand and dodged Yu Guimiao's hungry pounce.

"There's no rush. Wait until we get to the inn first, then we can eat. Now put the Seared Cloth back on."

With a reluctant ‘oh,' Yu Guimiao instantly crossed out the conclusion, ‘the Brother is still a fairly reasonable person' that she had just came to while thinking earlier.

Quietly stuffing the lotus leaf packet into the storage ring, Jiang Beiran continued to walk towards the inn with the five Sisters.

As they walked, Fang Qiuyao suddenly felt that something was wrong. She had gotten used to the feeling of being in the limelight since she was a child, and wherever she went, she was always the brightest star in everyone's eyes.

But at the moment, when she was walking on the street, no pedestrians gave her a second glance. Even the vendors calling out had not turned their eyes to her.

‘Something is wrong!' she thought.

Thinking of this, Fang Qiuyao couldn't help but look up at Jiang Beiran. She knew that the situation must be the work of this wimpy Brother.

‘It seems that my earlier feeling that Sister Zijin was different from her usual self was not mistaken. He must have done something to the straw hat or the Seared Cloth.

‘But… what kind of tampering could make us completely unnoticeable? This wimpy Brother really has some brilliant tactics when it comes to being a coward,' Fang Qiuyao thought to herself.

Although she realized that Jiang Beiran must have done something to the straw hat or Seared Cloth, Fang Qiuyao did not intend to expose him, because usually she also disliked the lust-filled eyes of those men looking at her. They made her very uncomfortable. Instead, this feeling of having no one look at her at the moment was very new to her.

‘Never mind. I'll give this wimpy Brother a break for now. I'll settle the score with him after I return to the Sect.'

"Bang!!"

"Clang!""Clang!"

Just as Jiang Beiran was looking for the location of the inn, a shattering sound suddenly came from ahead.

Immediately after that, an incredibly mean-spirited voice followed.

"How dare you set up a stall here without paying the rent! Are you tired of living?"

Looking in the direction that the voice had come from, they saw that a stall selling bean curd had been completely overturned. A middle-aged man with a face full of stubble was staring at the people who had overturned his stall with a resentful expression.

"Oh ya? You still dare to stare at me? F*ck you!" one of the young men in blue shouted angrily as he kicked at the middle-aged man.

"Argh!" The middle-aged man screamed miserably as he was kicked in the head, then shouted, "The government and that Liu Sandao both charge us rent! We're just a small business. How can we afford to pay you so much money?!"

"Hey, how dare you talk back! Beat him up!"

As the young man said this, a few other young men swarmed in on the middle-aged man and started punching and kicking him.

The surrounding vendors just watched in silence. Some even took a few steps back, as if they were used to such things.

"This is too much!"

Just then, Fang Qiuyao had shouted angrily and was about to pull out her Sword of White Rainbow.

At the same time, three options popped up in front of Jiang Beiran's eyes.