Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 278 - 278 0230 Too Ostentatious

Chapter 278: Chapter 0230: Too Ostentatious Chapter 278: Chapter 0230: Too Ostentatious Chapter 0230: Too Showy

Qi Tian gathered Zhang Lei, Pan Yulin, and others together to discuss how to solve the housing problem. This was not something easy to resolve, especially with so many people gathered in the small town; it was even more challenging.

Jiang Pan said, “Junior Brother, it depends on how you want to solve this problem. We’ve gone through this on our journey, even when we had to camp outdoors. If you want to let everyone makeshift living, it is not impossible. Simply find a place, set up tents or straw huts; it’s rather easy.”

Qi Tian shook his head: “Let’s talk about this method later. When we can’t find any other solutions, we will consider this. Are there no other ways?”

Pan Yulin showed a malicious grin and said, “Isn’t this simple? We can just walk around the street together, look for a good place, and drive out the people living there. Aren’t we, the five of us, at the Foundation Establishment Stage, capable enough to get a place for ourselves?”

At Pan Yulin’s words, Jiang Pan and Zhang Guangyao both nodded. In the small town, the Foundation Establishment Stage was already considered high-end combat power. So the five of them using force to secure a place to stay was quite easy. This was a common occurrence in the Cultivation World. If a cultivator with a higher cultivation state fancied a place owned by a cultivator with a lower cultivation level, and asked the latter to leave, one could only try resisting them. Moreover, this wasn’t some elaborate abode, just a resting place with hardly any Spirit Qi, so taking it by force was even more easy to justify.

Such actions were nothing new to Pan Yulin, Jiang Pan, and Zhang Guangyao. Zhang Lei made no comments, but her silence indicated tacit approval of this approach.

However, Qi Tian shook his head, saying, “We are cultivators from the Imperial Master Mansion. We are here to protect the territory and its people, not to act like robbers. If the property belonged to an enemy, then it would be okay to seize it. I wouldn’t approve otherwise. However, all are citizens of Great Zhao, we can’t resort to such tactics casually. Let’s try offering a higher price to lease from others first. If that doesn’t work, then we’ll discuss other ways.”

Zhang Guangyao asked, “Who will provide the money for this high price?”

Qi Tian irritably replied, “I will pay. Is that alright now? Stop standing around and start looking for a place, so we won’t end up with no place to rent even at a high price.”

With Qi Tian as the team leader and willing to pay the rent, no one, including Zhang Lei, objected. They dispersed to look for suitable places. Jiang Pan was the first to find a place and sent a Transmission Talisman to Qi Tian, asking him to come and have a look.

The place was okay, inclusive of a house and courtyard, covering over 300 square meters altogether. Upon seeing Qi Tian arrive, the owner demanded directly to be paid in spirit stones, one stone every three days. This was a sky-high price as the small town was not suitable for cultivation and a barren place with low Spirit Qi. Under regular circumstances, rent for such a courtyard would be at tops a dozen or so silver pieces per month, so this was practically a blatant robbery.

Qi Tian waved his hand, turned around, and left. Although he did have many spirit stones, and could afford to rent the place, this didn’t mean he was an easy mark.

Following Jiang Pan, Pan Yulin and Zhang Guangyao found some places too. But without exception, each owner asked for an exorbitant price that was akin to slaughtering a fat lamb. Qi Tian said nothing, but Pan Yulin nearly fought with the price-gouging leaseholder who asked for too much. The leaseholder begged for mercy but refused to lower the price.

If they were following Pan Yulin’s character, they would have directly driven out the occupants. But Qi Tian didn’t let him do so and left the place with Pan Yulin.

Just then, Zhang Lei sent a Transmission Talisman to Qi Tian. She had found a courtyard and asked him to come over and have a look.

The courtyard was on the southern side of the town, within a residential area whose residents were essentially relatives of the frontier army, in other words, a group of ordinary people.

The house covered an area of over 200 square meters and was home to a brother and sister. Zhang Lei had to inquire quite a bit before finding this place.

When Qi Tian and the others arrived, they found Zhang Lei standing hopelessly in the courtyard with two people kneeling in front of her: a young girl aged 11 or 12, and a boy slightly younger, about ten years old.

“Elder Sister, what’s going on?” Qi Tian pointed to the two people kneeling on the ground and asked.

Zhang Lei sighed, “I asked around quite a bit before I found this place. Originally, the sibling pair firmly refused to open the door, but after I revealed my identity and said I was willing to pay a high price to rent their house, the siblings opened the door. When I entered, they kneeled before me. They said that they would willingly give up their house and even give it away, as long as I agreed to take them in as disciples.”

“Why would they want you to take them as disciples?” Qi Tian asked.

Zhang Lei said, “Both of them are orphans. Their father used to be an officer in the frontier army. He was killed by a cultivator while holding off the Chi Di people. Not long after, their mother fell gravely ill. Despite depleting all their money, they couldn’t save her. The siblings have been living together for survival. If the Guard Office hadn’t wanted to spare the feelings of the frontier soldiers by maintaining the legacy of a martyr, they might have lost these houses already.”

Qi Tian nodded, “So, they both want to cultivate, then go to take revenge on the cultivator who killed their father?”