Zhang San, please behave yourself!
Chapter 247 - 238: Where is the Ledger?

Chapter 247: Chapter 238: Where is the Ledger?

Having finished the story, Zhang San slept very soundly that night.

Indeed, reading promotes sleep.

Just when Zhang San was sleeping soundly, he suddenly felt someone pushing him.

Zhang San opened his eyes and saw a little white-bearded old man standing by the bed, not much taller than the bed itself.

Bang!

Zhang San instinctively threw a punch at the old man.

The old man’s right eye immediately turned black.

"Young Daoist, don’t be impulsive, it’s me, the Earth God."

Zhang San paused and thought that since arriving in this world, besides initially dreaming of being chased by the Town Martial Office and fleeing to the Heavenly Punishment Sect, this must be the second dream in which he hadn’t dreamed about his Sun Golden Hand grandfather.

"Then what brings you here?"

The Earth God stroked his beard with a self-satisfied look and said, "After burning the Earth Treasure Scroll, you will comprehend its true meaning. But before that, I’ll pass on to you the Summoning the Gods Method, so in the future, if you need anything, you can summon one of my myriad incarnations to assist you."

With that, the Earth God leaped up and touched Zhang San’s forehead with a tap.

Zhang San only felt a special technique being remembered, somewhat like the Ghost Summoning Method, but different.

At this moment, Zhang San heard the Earth God’s voice in his ear.

"You now know the truth of the past, and someday, when the great battle resumes, I hope, young Daoist, that you will fight for this world. On behalf of the myriads of creatures in this world, I thank you in advance."

Subsequently, Zhang San felt his head spinning.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself back in the familiar courtyard of his childhood home.

Zhang San pushed open the front gate and stepped onto the street.

On the empty street, suddenly, a white-bearded old man, half a head shorter than himself, walked by.

Zhang San couldn’t see the old man’s face clearly, but that familiar line of dialogue rang out again.

"I see that you have an extraordinary skeleton and a unique talent. Come to the small bridge by the river behind your house tonight at midnight..."

Daylight came, and when Zhang San awoke, he realized he seemed to have dreamed of the Earth God and then dreamed of his Sun Golden Hand grandfather.

Over the course of a single night, he had studied the Summoning the Gods Method for eight years, and moreover, he had learned the secrets of the Treasure Scroll.

Could it be that this scroll was not just a storybook, but a Secret Manual hidden within the storybook?

Zhang San glanced around the room, Big Head Wang must have gone out to practice martial arts, so Zhang San took his washbasin and then took out the Earth Treasure Scroll, placing it in Big Head Wang’s washbasin and lighting it on fire.

Soon, the entire Earth Treasure Scroll had been burnt to ashes by Zhang San.

At the same time, Zhang San faintly felt that something had popped into his mind out of nowhere.

And these things were all methods of communicating with the Earth God.

Clearly, the inheritance of the Earth God was contained within the Treasure Scroll.

Could it be... that Bai Yucheng had once received the inheritance of the Earth God, which is why the account book was hidden underground?

With that thought, Zhang San used the Summoning the Gods Method and stomped his foot firmly.

Whoosh, a plume of white smoke drilled out from the ground and transformed into a small old man who somewhat resembled the Earth God Zhang San had seen the night before.

"Are you the Earth God?"

The little old man, seeing himself being summoned by Zhang San, waved his hands frantically, and hurriedly said, "I’m not, I’m not, I’m just a minor Earth God, I cannot bear the title of ’Divinity’."

Observing the expression and behavior of this Earth God, it was quite different from the Earth God he had met the night before.

Although their statures were the same, the Earth God from before had a confident air about him.

This one seemed much more humble.

After some questioning, Zhang San learned that this Earth God didn’t remember anything about being an Earth God.

It seemed that he had been an Earth God since his creation.

Moreover, from the moment he was born, he looked just as he did now.

As for where he came from or how he had suddenly grown so big, the Earth God had no idea.

Zhang San couldn’t help but think of the words the Earth God had said to him last night and, combining it with the ending of the story he had read in the Treasure Scroll, he speculated that it might be due to the Earth God’s soul being divided into countless avatars after his death, thus losing the memory of his past life and even greatly diminishing his strength.

After all, if he had been powerful, he wouldn’t have acted this way upon seeing a Martial Artist from the True Core Realm like himself.

"Then do you know where the account books of Bai Yucheng are hidden?"

Zhang San thought that since the Earth God was responsible for the area around Xiongfeng Manor, he might know some clues.

However, the Earth God shook his head.

"I know Bai Yucheng has done some shady things, but as for the account books of Bai Yucheng, I really have no clue. Didn’t you go to the place where Bai Yucheng hides things? Ask the Earth God there; perhaps he might know something."

Zhang San grimaced; what kind of Earth God was this? Didn’t they have any networking functions, some information sharing?

But then he thought if the Earth Gods could share information, they would probably have established a vast Martial Path force led by the Earth Gods themselves long ago.

"Thank you for your trouble; then I’ll go to that place and ask the Earth God there," Zhang San said.

After all, since he had troubled the Earth God to come out, Zhang San bowed deeply to him and then asked, "What do you like? I’ll give you something."

The Earth God chuckled and said, "Nobody has made offerings to me for many years. I’m a bit hungry, so food or money will do."

Zhang San frowned; this Earth God was really struggling.

He immediately took out twenty taels of gold from his Gluttonous Bag and handed them to the Earth God.

"Just a small token of appreciation. If anything happens in this area in the future, please let me know."

"Rest assured, Brother Zhang San, from now on, your affairs will be my affairs!" the Earth God replied.

Watching the trail of white smoke that marked the disappearance of the Earth God, Zhang San couldn’t help but feel that the Earth God had it really tough.

Then, Zhang San went out, called Hei, mounted his horse, and rode straight to the place where Bai Yucheng hid its treasures without even stopping for breakfast.

Zhang San just couldn’t understand why, after all this hustling, he still couldn’t find an account book!

Riding hard until noon, Zhang San found a shady tree to rest under and, to avoid being targeted, he summoned the nearby Earth God.

"Earth God, hello, I’m just passing through. Could you tell me if anyone is following or ambushing me around here?" he asked.

"No," was the reply.

Zhang San quickly thanked the Earth God and handed over two taels of gold to him.

Assured of his safety, Zhang San sat down to eat something and let Hei rest beside him.

Zhang San pondered where exactly the account book could be.

At the same time, he was somewhat curious about the nature of that Demonic Path Magical Treasure.

Zhang San took out the Magical Treasure Scroll, which was surrounded by Demonic Qi, and gently opened it.

Hei couldn’t help but suggest, "Master, why don’t you take out the Black Gold Dragon that you took from me to help suppress this? Such a Demonic Path Magical Treasure might have side effects, or it could harm you."

Zhang San smiled and shook his head, "No need. I’m not truly relying on this Magical Treasure for cultivation; I just want to study the principle behind such treasures. If possible, I’ll create one that can be used by those on the Righteous Path, and then use it to enhance my own cultivation spee..."

Zhang San’s words trailed off as he suddenly stopped.

He had discovered that although the Magical Treasure was indeed a scroll, it was actually composed of eight hundred slender Jade Scrolls linked together.

Sealed within each Jade Scroll was a Soul Fragment.

Looking through the Jade Scroll at the Soul Fragment, one could clearly see the scenes experienced by the holder of the soul in their lifetime.

And that scene was precisely Bai Yucheng, taking "her" to conduct a transaction with someone. After the deal, Bai Yucheng recounted the details and outcomes of this transaction, the traded items, and the background of the other party to "her."

Then he stripped "her" of her Soul Fragment.

Using a woman’s soul to record everything about the transaction, a record created at the cost of a life, both real and cruel.

This was Bai Yucheng’s account book.

A blood-soaked ledger.