"Go, go, Immortal, it's just ahead!"
"okay."
Every time they reached an intersection, Qiao Yong, who was leading the way, would always stop and point the direction, fearing that Ji Yuan and the old beggar might not know the way. Even though he knew that the two were immortals, he still had to follow this etiquette.
Although Qiao Yong is no longer a young man, he is obviously in good health. He carries the load and walks briskly, walking through the streets with Ji Yuan and the old beggar.
The old beggar looked at Qiao Yong who was leading the way in front, and walked with Ji Yuan behind him and talked in a low voice.
"Mr. Ji, didn't you say you were a high-ranking official? You can take an old beggar like me to have a good meal. We haven't eaten anything in the past two days. We are all empty-handed. In this situation, how can we have a good meal?"
Ji Yuan smiled helplessly.
"If Mr. Lu is not satisfied, how about I go to the restaurant and buy you a table of good wine and food?"
"Okay, you said it yourself, Mr. Ji, you can't go back on your word, hehe."
"You, you..."
Ji Yuan's smile was not forced at all. He was not as rich as most but better off than most. He was not a millionaire, but he could afford a meal. After all, the little gold nuggets that Hu Yun had found for him had hardly been touched.
Having said this, the old beggar looked at Qiao Yong again.
"However, since Mr. Ji had asked him to pass on a message, even if he didn't leave any powerful tokens, those few words alone are worth pondering. They wouldn't have allowed Qiao Yong to go out to buy vegetables, right?"
"That's true, but I see that Qiao Yong has a ruddy complexion and is not short of breath or weak. Although his aura is weak, it has not completely dissipated. It can't be said that he is in dire straits. Let's wait and see."
As the two were talking, they turned an alley and arrived at a main street. Opposite them was a mansion that looked quite grand, so Qiao Yong pointed there and said.
"My two immortals, that is my home. Come with me and sit down in my house!"
As he spoke, Qiao Yong quickened his pace.
The old beggar looked into the distance and knew that Ji Yuan's eyesight was not very good. Although the words on the plaque were large, he needed to get close to read them, so he spoke very considerately.
"Mr. Ji, it says 'Qiao Mansion' on it."
Ji Yuan said with a smile.
"Even if I can't see it clearly, I can guess it!"
The Qiao family is now just a family, and lacks the glory of the past. Not to mention the servants at the door, even the fallen leaves in front of the door are not swept away.
Qiao Yong carried his load and walked quickly to the door, then rang the copper ring on the door.
“Bang, bang, bang… bang, bang, bang…”
"Ade, Ade, open the door, I'm back!"
"I'm coming!"
There was a sound of footsteps, and a moment later, a side door next to the main gate was opened from the inside, revealing a gray-haired old man behind the door.
"Master? Here, why are you at the front door? Who are these two?"
Qiao Yong slapped his forehead and spoke quickly.
"Oh, Ade, open the main gate quickly, open the main gate, to welcome the distinguished guests! Open the main gate to welcome the two immortals!"
"Ah? Oh, open the front door, open the front door..."
There is only one servant in the mansion now, Qiao De, who has followed the Qiao family for decades. Even though the Qiao family has long been in decline, he is still loyal to the Qiao family.
Ji Yuan and the old beggar did not stop the Qiao family from doing this. Although it was a bit troublesome, Qiao Yong attached great importance to such etiquette and just let it go.
"Squeak..."
The main door, which had not been opened for a long time, slowly opened. Qiao Yong and other members of the Qiao family who had heard the news welcomed Ji Yuan and the old beggar in.
Not only that, Qiao Yong also instructed his wife and children to prepare a sumptuous dinner, emphasizing several times that it must be sumptuous, before taking Ji Yuan and the old beggar to the living room.
This mansion was originally the Qiao Mansion. Although it is still not ranked among the top in the capital, it cannot be considered a small mansion or courtyard. Nowadays, there are not many people in the Qiao Mansion, and many rooms are idle. After all, they cannot be cleaned.
The Qiao family was naturally very curious about the arrival of Ji Yuan and the old beggar. While they were working in the kitchen, the children in the family were still talking about them.
"Is that the immortal? Why is there a beggar?"
"Don't talk nonsense, it's just an appearance!"
"It seems that they are different from the immortal masters in the Heavenly Master's Office. Aren't they said that the immortal masters in the Heavenly Master's Office are also immortals?"
"Of course immortals are different from each other. I look different from you."
"Stop talking nonsense, light the fire and cook. I'll go kill two chickens."
"Is there chicken to eat?" "Great!"
…
The atmosphere in the kitchen was cheerful. In the living room, after pouring tea for Ji Yuan and the old beggar, Qiao Yong also told them what happened after he came back.
Although I had been wandering on the sea for many years, it only took me one year to return to the port of Daxiu. Strangely enough, when I came back, everything went smoothly, I didn't encounter any storms, and I didn't lose my way. I returned to Daxiu smoothly.
When he first heard that they were coming, the emperor in the Daxiu Palace was very pleased, thinking that the fleet had brought back the elixir, so he immediately summoned Qiao Yong and even sent the imperial guards and the imperial guards with swords to escort them.
Emperor Daxiu sent out a total of three teams to seek elixirs, each to one of the three legendary fairylands. The treasure ship fleet was sent to the East China Sea, which should have been the slowest to receive news and had the least hope, but unexpectedly, the fleet was the first to return.
"Haha, the emperor must be very happy, right?"
The old beggar couldn't help but tease Qiao Yong when he heard him repeat this. He had a disciple who was once the emperor and was beheaded once. The emperor of Daxiu was quite similar to the former Yang Zong.
Hearing the old beggar ask this, Qiao Yong also smiled bitterly.
"Who said it wasn't true? Actually, before my fleet entered the port, people from the Sea Observation Department had already observed the fleet's return, so when the fleet entered the port, there were actually soldiers in armor to greet us."
Qiao Yong recalled for a moment before continuing.
"At the beginning, I told the officials who came to greet us that we didn't obtain the elixir, but only got Mr. Ji's promise. The officials who came to greet us didn't dare to report directly to the capital, and insisted on taking us, the fleet officials, with them."
"And then what?"
After Ji Yuan asked this, Qiao Yong continued talking based on his memories.
"After arriving in the capital, I learned that we had not found the elixir, and that Immortal Ji's promise was only verbal. The emperor believed the immortal's words, but not necessarily my words... In addition, some officials impeached me, saying that I must have fabricated the immortal's message just to come back from the sea. So the emperor was furious and dismissed me from office and imprisoned me. If it weren't for the imperial teacher's dissuasion, I, Qiao Yong, might not have saved my head..."
"I was not thoughtful enough, please forgive me, Mr. Qiao!"
Ji Yuan bowed and apologized, which scared Qiao Yong so much that he stood up and said "I dare not" repeatedly.
However, although Ji Yuan said that he was inconsiderate, in fact he did not have any token to leave at that time. Who was he, Ji Yuan? People must have never heard of him. What would be the point of leaving a token? Instead, the news from the Xianyou Conference was more convincing.
Ji Yuan's mistake was that he originally thought that the Xianyou Conference must be a very secretive high-end conference, and only people with a certain status would know about it. When he arrived at Ruanshan, he realized that although not many people in the world knew about the Xianyou Conference, there were still quite a few. Just because someone knows about the Xianyou Conference, it doesn't mean that what he says can be trusted.
"Did the Imperial Master believe you?"
Ji Yuan asked again, Qiao Yong shook his head and spoke honestly.
"Although the Imperial Master left enough room, he didn't completely trust me. He asked me a lot of questions about Immortal Ji and your relationship with Xianxia Island. I know a lot, so I can only answer as best as I can. Fortunately, the Imperial Master is good at fortune-telling and figured out that I didn't lie. He also said that when he wanted to plot against you, Immortal Ji, no matter how he calculated, he came up blank."
When Qiao Yong said this, he smiled embarrassedly.
"When I heard the Imperial Master say this to His Majesty in the Golden Palace, I was terrified. I thought that the Imperial Master's words were going to cause trouble. Even His Majesty was even more furious. Fortunately, the Imperial Master later explained that this could only happen if he met a truly great master. If he didn't have a treasure, then his level of cultivation must be much higher than his. This is how he saved me..."
"After being locked up for half a year, news came in about another immortality-seeking team. However, Lord Li from that team fled with his baggage and didn't dare to return to Daxiu. The emperor was naturally angry, but some of my former friends in the court took the opportunity to speak for me, saying that at least I, Qiao Yong, had not forgotten the emperor's kindness and knew to come back to report the news. Even if I had no merit, I had worked hard..."
Qiao Yong said thankfully.
"Hey, originally the emperor wanted to keep me in prison until next year. If there was no news about the immortal I mentioned, he would execute me in the autumn of next year. But because of this incident, I was released half a month later and have been idle at home until today."
"In fact, the emperor has been very kind to me. Although I was dismissed from my post, my property was not confiscated. However, the brothers in the fleet back then had a hard time. Those who were healthy were fine, but those who were injured at sea had a hard time. Because the emperor was angry, they did not receive full compensation. How can I feel good about this? I can only do my best to help them if I can."
The old beggar nodded slightly towards Ji Yuan, and the two of them basically understood the whole story of the changes in the Qiao family. Even if there was no calculation to verify, it was obvious to them whether Qiao Yong was telling the truth or not.
"Mr. Qiao is kind-hearted."
The old beggar smiled and Qiao Yong just shook his head.
"I can't say I'm kindhearted, but I made a promise to my brothers and didn't keep it. This place... is uneasy!"
Qiao Yong said this and patted his chest.