novelraw Chapter 701: Taking You to Meet Him
Chapter 701: Taking You to Meet Him
As soon as Yang Haoran mentioned meeting the spirit master who had exorcised ghosts in the small town, Old Town Chief's expression changed from skepticism to wariness.
"What's the official's sudden interest in meeting the divine envoy?" Old Town Chief asked, his face filled with caution.
Yang Haoran noticed Old Town Chief's reaction and pretended to hesitate, thinking for a moment before making a decision.
"Since Old Town Chief has asked, I won't hide it. I want to communicate with the divine envoy and see if he's willing to cooperate with our Administrative Bureau. Old Town Chief, you also know that the current situation is not peaceful, and our Administrative Bureau needs someone like him, a high-ranking expert."
After hearing Yang Haoran's words, Old Town Chief's wariness decreased slightly, but he still shook his head.
"I'm afraid the success rate is low. Although I'm not familiar with the divine envoy, I can see that he's a transcendent being who doesn't pursue fame or wealth."
"He may not pursue fame or wealth, but he still has reasons to cooperate with us. Our Administrative Bureau represents the government, and if he agrees to cooperate, we can let him choose a good location to build a Spirit God Temple and help him spread his teachings to recruit more believers. As a devout believer of Spirit God, he has every reason to cooperate with our Administrative Bureau. Moreover, recruiting more believers for Spirit God and providing protection to those living in hardship is not pursuing fame or wealth, is it?"
Old Town Chief didn't respond immediately, instead, he furrowed his brows, seemingly thinking about Yang Haoran's words. After a brief moment, he nodded slightly.
"You make a lot of sense. Doing things for Spirit God can't be considered pursuing fame or wealth, because it's a sacred and glorious task. As a devout believer, it's our duty to spread Spirit God's light to every corner of the world, letting everyone live a happy and carefree life. Using the phrase 'pursuing fame or wealth' to describe it is simply blasphemous!"
Old Town Chief's words made Yang Haoran feel a sense of admiration. In such a short time, Old Town Chief's faith in Spirit God had reached such a level. He didn't know whether to praise the divine envoy or Old Town Chief.Although he felt admiration, Yang Haoran's expression remained flattering.
"Old Town Chief has a deep understanding of the issue, and it's in line with my thoughts. From the villagers' attitude towards Old Town Chief, I can see that Old Town Chief is highly respected in this small town, which is why I came to consult with you, hoping you can help introduce me to the divine envoy and persuade him to cooperate with our Administrative Bureau."
Old Town Chief hadn't agreed to introduce Yang Haoran to the divine envoy, but Yang Haoran had already started flattering him, making Old Town Chief feel a bit proud and neglecting the first question, focusing on the second one instead.
"In our small town, I naturally have some influence, which is a fact that all villagers must acknowledge. However, the divine envoy is not from our town, and my persuasion may not be effective. You'll have to rely on your own abilities to convince him."
Old Town Chief's words made Yang Haoran's smile even more sincere, not fake at all.
With a smile on his face, Yang Haoran temporarily placed the Spirit God statue on a nearby altar, then took out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from his pocket and offered one to Old Town Chief, lighting it for him personally, while he himself didn't take one from the pack.
"Eating from others' hands makes one's hands soft," Old Town Chief enjoyed the cigarette, savoring the flavor.
"Hehe, officials are indeed different, the cigarettes they smoke are all high-end, although I don't know how much a box of these cigarettes costs, but I know the price is definitely not cheap. This cigarette, wow, it's smooth and doesn't dry out your mouth. Old Man, I've never smoked such good cigarettes in my life!"
Old Town Chief laughed and opened his mouth, taking one puff after another.
"If you don't mind, Old Town Chief, you can take this pack of cigarettes first, and I'll bring more over later."
Yang Haoran smiled and handed the pack of cigarettes to Old Town Chief, who hesitated for a moment before finally accepting it and putting it in his pocket.
"What are you doing, ah, you're really too polite, really too polite!"
Although Old Town Chief said this, he didn't take the cigarettes out of his pocket and instead took another puff before continuing.
"Don't worry, after we meet the divine envoy, I'll definitely put in a good word for you. Although it may not be effective, as the former town chief of this small town, I have some influence here, and the divine envoy will give me some face. Let's go, let's eat first, and after the temple fair is over, I'll take you to meet the divine envoy."
Upon hearing this, Yang Haoran's face showed a hint of embarrassment.
"Old Town Chief, I came out this time to complete a task, and according to reason, after I've understood the situation in your small town, I should immediately return to report back. Although the task has changed, I still don't have much time to waste."
Yang Haoran's words implied that he didn't have much time to spare, and the Administrative Bureau was still waiting for him to report back, so there was no need to eat anymore, and it was best to head to the divine envoy's location immediately.
However, Old Town Chief seemed to not understand the underlying meaning of Yang Haoran's words, or perhaps he was just pretending not to understand.
"Ah, people are iron, and food is steel. If you don't eat, how can you have the energy to work? Listen to me, let's eat first, and after we're done, I'll take you to meet the divine envoy."
Saying this, Old Town Chief didn't care whether Yang Haoran was willing or not and pulled him towards the temple exit.
Yang Haoran felt a bit helpless, but he could only follow Old Town Chief, as he still needed Old Town Chief to lead the way to find the divine envoy.
However, man proposes, but God disposes. When the two of them returned to their original seats, they found that the dishes on the table were already empty, with not even a single grain of rice left. All the soup in the bowls had been drunk by the villagers.
This behavior was even more ruthless than a swarm of locusts, but it was hard to blame the villagers, as they rarely had the opportunity to eat their fill, and usually had to be frugal. Today, they had a good chance to eat, and they wouldn't miss it, especially since they had also contributed to the cost, and it was up to them to eat as much as they could. There was no need to be polite, and at least they wouldn't lose out.
Without any food, the villagers sat around drinking wine and chatting happily. When Yang Haoran and Old Town Chief arrived, they only glanced at Yang Haoran before turning their attention to Old Town Chief.
"Old Town Chief, hurry up and sit down, hurry up and sit down. Although there's no food left, there's still some wine. If you come back a bit later, haha, there won't even be any wine left."
A villager laughed and opened his mouth, and the other villagers laughed and agreed. As for Yang Haoran, the outsider, they didn't even bother to greet him, and not scolding him was already being polite.
Old Town Chief looked at the empty plates and showed a hint of helplessness, before a bitter smile appeared on his face.
"I was in a hurry to get out of the temple and thought I could grab some leftovers to eat, but looking at the current situation, I still came out too late. I really regret it, if I had known it would be like this, I should have eaten my fill before going to the temple. I was too impulsive and didn't think of this, letting you guys eat everything clean, not even leaving a single bite for me."
Old Town Chief's words didn't make the villagers show any signs of embarrassment or shame, but instead made them laugh even harder.
"Haha, Old Town Chief, didn't we tell you? There's no food, but there's still wine. Hurry up and sit down and drink a few cups."
"Never mind, in my opinion, there's probably not much wine left either. If I sit down, I won't even get to drink two cups, and I don't do things that are all talk and no action. You guys can drink the rest of the wine yourselves, and I'll take this official to meet someone. By the way, I forgot to tell you, this official is now also a believer of my god, so we're all one family now, and next time you see him, be more polite."