The elderly man, well past sixty, suddenly let out a snort, immediately flicked his sleeve, and looked quite displeased.

“Back in the day, I oversaw the construction of the Domain Lord’s mansion, and even the current Domain Lord couldn’t find fault with it. Now, a country bumpkin of a Daoist—does he think his standards are higher than the Domain Lord’s?”

“Henry Foster, go tell him: if he can point out any specific flaw in the Daoist temple I built, not only will I give him nine hundred and twenty-seven taels, I’ll give him my head as well!”

“Since this Daoist can afford the price, I’ll show him what a true Ministry of Works craftsman is!”

Thomas Reed gently stroked his beard and said calmly, “Tell him, as a Daoist, to pick an auspicious day himself. When the time comes, gather the craftsmen and we’ll begin construction!”

Henry Foster agreed and turned to leave.

Thomas Reed casually picked up a stack of papers from the table.

These had been brought by Henry Foster, who said they were the Daoist’s own work.

As a former official of the Ministry of Works, he looked down on the common bricklayers and masons, and didn’t believe that the country Daoist’s drafts could be all that refined.

But since he had taken on the job, he ought to look them over carefully.

However, as soon as he glanced at the blueprints, he was stunned.

“This…”

Thomas Reed examined them closely, and was soon astonished.

His hands trembled as he flipped through the pages, one after another.

The drawings were neat, the annotations meticulous, down to every brick and tile, every inch and fraction.

The entire Daoist temple covered a vast area, and when connected together, the design was grand and imposing, magnificent in every way.

The Daoist’s vision for the temple, in terms of scale, grandeur, and style, actually surpassed the Domain Lord’s mansion of Guangshan Domain!

“Is this Daoist… planning to build an immortal palace?”

Thomas Reed recalled his earlier boastful words and felt a vague sense of unease.

With such lofty ambitions and extraordinary vision, could he really satisfy this Daoist?

But in the next instant, a surge of pride rose in Thomas Reed’s heart.

The phoenix will not perch on anything but a parasol tree!

For sixteen years, he had not built for anyone, seen as a has-been, but in truth, it was because his talent and ambition were too great to bother with ordinary houses!

For sixteen years, his mind had been devoted to the study of architecture, never slacking for a single day, never letting his talent go to waste. Wasn’t it all for the chance, in his lifetime, to build a magnificent structure that would make the old Ministry of Works colleagues look at him with new eyes?

“This is the parasol tree I’ve waited sixteen years for!”

Thomas Reed’s eyes shone brightly, his spirits soaring. “Even if this parasol tree is taller than I imagined, I will climb it!”

——

At the same time.

Thirty li outside Fengyuan Mountain.

A huge figure swept through the forest, stirring up a wild wind.

“Please, sir, don’t eat us! That little Daoist is from Baihong Temple on Fengyuan Mountain, just up ahead.”

Suddenly, a trembling voice spoke.

In his hand, he held a broken knife.

His palm was already split open, but he clung to the hilt with all his might, not daring to let go.

He wasn’t brave or fearless—he just felt that holding onto the knife was like grasping his last lifeline, something to calm his terrified, trembling heart.

Chapter 005: Cold Night Wind, Vengeful Spirits Seek Lives

Fengyuan Mountain.

Halfway up the mountain, inside the old temple.

A young Daoist sat cross-legged, breathing in and out.

After a while, he opened his eyes, exhaled, and sighed, “Making money is nowhere near as fast as robbing the rich…”

After a whole night of cultivation, his true qi had only increased a tiny bit.

But after slaying demons and exorcising evil, his true qi had grown by half a year’s worth in an instant.

Comparing the two, the difference was more than a hundredfold!

Just then, outside the ruined temple, a little black bear cub, two or three feet tall, scampered in.

“Samuel Brooks, I’ve already found a job. There’s a family in the east of the city who married a wife three years ago but still haven’t had a child. Lately, they’ve been praying to gods and Buddhas, suspecting that the ancestral grave’s feng shui is bad and causing karmic debts to linger.”

The little beast said excitedly, “This time they’re hiring a feng shui master and offering fifty taels of silver.”

Samuel Brooks’s expression was indifferent. He snorted and said, “I’m skilled at reading yang dwellings, but when it comes to yin dwellings like graves, I only have a rough understanding, not true expertise.”

The little beast quickly said, “You may not know feng shui, but you can help the woman in that family have a child.”

Upon hearing this, Samuel Brooks was taken aback, then nodded, “That I can do.”

Although his knowledge of feng shui was limited, he was quite accomplished in medicine and could give it a try.

But in the next moment, Samuel Brooks came to his senses, immediately reached out and knocked the little bear on the head with a pop.

“I told you to look for monsters and demons on the bounty list—what kind of job is this?”

Samuel Brooks said angrily, “I’ve told you, we’re doing big things now. Those little jobs from before are beneath us. The monsters on the bounty list are the real big business! Don’t you know that killing just one of them earns us more than half a year’s work before?”

The little beast clutched its head, looking aggrieved, and muttered, “I searched all over but couldn’t find anyone who looked like those on the list. If we can’t find big business, we can’t just sit here with nothing to do. That’s why I thought we could take on some small jobs to get by, earn a little money, and save up for a couple of floor tiles.”