Lu Chen took a deep breath and slowly let it out.
The two most troublesome parts were already handled.
“Next, I need to have a good talk with Wang Zhongmin and Chen Tiansheng.”
He put away the deity statue properly, didn’t delay any further, turned around, and walked back to Wang Zhongmin’s office.
In the office, several people were waiting restlessly, unable to sit still.
As soon as the door opened, several pairs of eyes locked onto Lu Chen like magnets.
“How did it go, Xiao Lu?”
Seeing the faces of the three people, tense to the point of breaking, Lu Chen smiled and nodded. “It’s settled!”
“Holy crap!!!”
Wang Zhongmin was so excited he jumped straight up from his chair.
Chen Tiansheng, because he had expended a lot of mental energy, was noticeably slower to react, but he still clenched his fists tightly, his whole body trembling uncontrollably.
Sun Yourong, standing off to the side, looked at Lu Chen with complicated emotions.
Shock mixed with a hint of disbelief, along with a trace of embarrassment she couldn’t quite hide.
After all, before coming here, she had confidently declared that Lu Chen’s trip would definitely fail.
And what happened?
Less than half a day had passed.
Was this S-rank mission, which had tormented hundreds of thousands of people in Dragon Tiger County and driven away over a thousand bounty awakeners, really about to be solved by him?
“Does the word ‘failure’ just not exist in this guy’s dictionary?”
Remembering everything that had happened before, Sun Yourong’s heart stirred, and she let out a quiet sigh.
“Uncle Wang, Uncle Chen, don’t get too excited just yet. Next, I need to discuss the terms with you.”
Lu Chen changed the subject.
Wang Zhongmin and Chen Tiansheng’s expressions turned serious, and they gestured for him to sit. “Xiao Lu, have a seat first, and take your time.”
As he spoke, Wang Zhongmin personally poured Lu Chen a fresh cup of tea and handed it to him.
“Thanks, Uncle Wang.” Lu Chen took the teacup, paused for a moment, and said seriously, “Let me briefly explain what happened today…”
The three of them immediately perked up their ears.
Lu Chen continued, “I went out for a walk this afternoon, over by the Big Dragon Pool area, and happened to run into the local Earth God. It was from him that I learned that your Dragon Tiger County actually has another little-known Well Dragon King. So I followed the Earth God to the Well Dragon King’s residence, negotiated the terms with him, and asked him to come forward and make rain…”
Wang Zhongmin couldn’t help interrupting at this point. “Xiao Lu, don’t blame your uncle for being nosy. This Well Dragon King… is he really reliable?”
“Yeah, Xiao Lu,” Chen Tiansheng chimed in. “I’m the one who makes deity statues. My family hasn’t even touched a statue of the Well Dragon King for nearly a hundred years. For a deity to receive no incense offerings for a century, I’m afraid… even its very existence is a problem.”
Lu Chen smiled. “Uncle Wang, Uncle Chen, I understand your concerns, and you’re not wrong. The Well Dragon King’s current situation really isn’t what it used to be.”
“So… can he still bring rain?”
“Don’t worry. I already have a plan in mind for this. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be sitting down to talk with you.”
Seeing Lu Chen say this, Wang Zhongmin and Chen Tiansheng exchanged a glance and nodded firmly. “Alright, a Well Dragon King it is. We trust you. Go on…”
Lu Chen continued, “As for the God of Wealth, I can’t go into too much detail. You just need to know that he played a key role in getting Dragon Tiger County out of this predicament. Otherwise, even if the Well Dragon King wanted to help, with the East Sea Dragon King looming over him like a great menace, he wouldn’t dare to show himself.”
As soon as he said this, the three people’s eyes went wide as saucers.
Chen Tiansheng swallowed hard. “I was thinking about that too. No matter how capable the Well Dragon King is, with the East Sea Dragon King right there, how would he dare to step forward? Outsiders might not know about internal conflicts within the sea clans, but we do. So, Xiao Lu, you had this planned all along! But how exactly did you manage to enlist the God of Wealth’s help? Oh, right, what’s your Servant-Deity level with him?”
The two of them stared intently at Lu Chen, waiting for an answer.
Lu Chen chuckled softly. “Let’s not get into the details. The process doesn’t matter; the result does, isn’t that right?”
Chen Tiansheng and Wang Zhongmin exchanged another glance, then simultaneously looked at Sun Yourong, their eyes questioning.
Sun Yourong laughed helplessly. “Uncle Wang, Uncle Chen, don’t look at me. If he doesn’t want to say it, I can’t tell you even if I know. But I can reveal one thing: his Servant-Deity level with the God of Wealth is beyond your imagination!”
“Hiss!”
The two of them sucked in a cold breath and finally stopped pressing. “Alright, we understand! So what do you need us to do?”
Lu Chen said seriously, “The most critical part of my agreement with the Well Dragon King is to establish a temple for him and ensure a steady supply of incense offerings. If the incense isn’t enough, his magical power will be insufficient, and it might not turn out well.”
“That’s no problem! If the Well Dragon King truly blesses our Dragon Tiger County with good weather, we will definitely build him a temple and gild his statue!”
Chen Tiansheng thumped his chest. “Our Chen Family Temple is willing to build him a magnificent Dragon King Hall, guaranteed to have a continuous supply of incense!”
Wang Zhongmin also nodded emphatically. “Old Chen, go ahead and do what needs to be done. If you need any paperwork, I’ll sign off on it!”
Lu Chen smiled. “Since you two are so committed, the biggest problem is solved.” He paused, then added, “Next, I have two personal requests.”
“Mr. Xiao Lu, just say the word!”
Lu Chen nodded and held up one finger. “First, the God of Wealth played a crucial role in this event, but as you know, his incense offerings have never been abundant. Since you have his statue now, I hope the people of Dragon Tiger County will remember his contribution and offer him more incense in the future. When praying for wealth, it’s not just about God Zhao of Wealth. The God of Wealth works too. In my opinion, he’s even more responsive than God Zhao of Wealth. It’s just that many people are unwilling to give him a try.”
“No problem. I agree to this! Our Chen Family Temple happens to have three deity slots left. Even after adding the Well Dragon King and the God of Wealth, there’s still room.”
Chen Tiansheng agreed very readily.
“Three slots left? What do you mean by that? Does the temple have a limit on the number of deity slots?” Lu Chen caught onto something that piqued his curiosity.
Sun Yourong explained, “Of course there is. Uncle Chen’s family, the Chens, is the only upstart noble family in Dragon Tiger County. According to the rules, an upstart family’s temple cannot enshrine more than sixty deities. For a family like mine, the Suns, the limit is one hundred and twenty. Simply put, how many deities a temple can enshrine is directly tied to the family’s rank. You can’t just enshrine as many as you want.”
“So that’s how it works.”
This was the first time Lu Chen had heard this rule; his teacher had never mentioned it either.
“No wonder the Zhao Family Temple only had just over a hundred deity slots.”
At the time, Lu Chen thought it was just because the Zhao family’s temple was small. Turns out it was limited by their rank.
“It’s a bit embarrassing to say,” Chen Tiansheng admitted, looking a little uncomfortable. “Our Chen family is famous for making deity statues, but due to military merit restrictions, we’ve been stuck at the upstart rank for a full thirty or forty years. We’re practically becoming ‘old upstarts’.”
“Uncle Chen, you can’t say that,” Sun Yourong comforted him. “Everyone has their specialty. Your family’s statue-making skill is unparalleled. Even the prestigious, long-established families have to respect you for that.”
“That’s true.” Chen Tiansheng nodded, his expression softening a bit.
Lu Chen silently filed away this useful knowledge for the future, then continued, “The God of Wealth is one request. Second, I hope you two can renovate the Earth God’s shrines throughout the county and offer him incense as well. If the Earth God hadn’t helped guide the way today, nothing that followed would have been possible. I also promised him that I would make sure his contribution is remembered.”
“No problem. These are all small matters!” Wang Zhongmin nodded emphatically. “Whoever solves the drought in Dragon Tiger County is our county’s benefactor. We will never let our benefactor feel unappreciated!”
“Exactly!” Chen Tiansheng agreed solemnly. “Anything else?”
“That’s it.” Lu Chen shook his head.
“That’s it?” Wang Zhongmin and Chen Tiansheng looked at each other in surprise. “Mr. Xiao Lu, don’t you want to make any requests for yourself?”
“Yeah, even though you accepted this mission, the mission reward is the mission reward. If you have any other requests, we’ll do our best to fulfill them and won’t refuse. After all, you keep saying this person is a hero and that person is a hero, but you are the greatest hero!”
“That’s right,” Sun Yourong also nodded in agreement. Afraid that Lu Chen might be too shy to speak up, she prompted him, “Lu Chen, go ahead and say what you want. The mission reward is just the baseline. If you have any other ideas, just say them directly. The difficulty of this Dragon Tiger County mission has long exceeded S-rank; it’s just been artificially suppressed. If you don’t make any requests, once this is actually accomplished, Uncle Wang and Uncle Chen will feel bad about it.”
“My niece is right. Mr. Xiao Lu, if you have requests, just say them. Don’t be polite!”
“Well…” Lu Chen thought for a moment, made up his mind, and looked directly at Chen Tiansheng. “Alright, then I won’t stand on ceremony. Uncle Chen, I’m very interested in your family’s method of making deity statues. If I could learn this skill, it would be much easier for me to communicate with deities when I’m out and about elsewhere. Would it be possible… to teach this family skill to an outsider?”
“Well…”
Chen Tiansheng instinctively looked at Wang Zhongmin.
“Why are you looking at me? The young man wants to learn your family’s ancestral craft. Hey, don’t let our benefactor feel unappreciated~” Wang Zhongmin reminded him with a smile.
Chen Tiansheng rolled his eyes at him, thought for a moment, then sat up straight and said seriously, “Don’t worry, Xiao Lu. Once this is done, Uncle Chen will give you a satisfactory answer!”
Lu Chen immediately stood up and clasped his fists. “Then I’ll thank you in advance, Uncle Chen.”
“Don’t mention it. We should be thanking you! Three years—you have no idea how we’ve survived these three years!”
Wang Zhongmin, upon hearing this, also let out a long sigh.
“It’s okay. Everything will pass.” Lu Chen sat back down. “So, shall I go over the specific plan?”
“Yes!”
Lu Chen turned sideways. Behind the sofa, there happened to be a map of the entire Dragon Tiger County hanging on the wall.
He quickly locked onto a target and pointed. “Tomorrow, I’m going to hold a grand prayer ceremony right here!”
The others looked in the direction he was pointing. It wasn’t just any place—it was exactly the spot where the Thirteenth Crown Prince of the East Sea Dragon King had been executed all those years ago.
—The Big Dragon Pool!
