Then he hurriedly ran out of the small eatery.
Not only him, but the other idlers also felt tremendous pressure, so they all slipped away.
Soon, the small eatery only had Zhao Ya and this Jin Fu left.
When Jin Fu came up with a steaming bowl of shredded meat noodles, he couldn’t help but be a bit surprised.
It should be known that these idlers could buy a cup of wine and stay the whole day in the small eatery, just to enjoy the warmth here; otherwise, they’d have to light a fire at home, which consumed a lot of fuel.
Why did they leave so early today?
Jin Fu was still somewhat confused.
Zhao Ya had already picked up the bowl and started slurping the noodles.
Honestly, the taste of the noodles wasn’t particularly good.
After all, the small eatery couldn’t get good ingredients; it was merely something to fill the stomach.
But Zhao Ya didn’t waste a bit, eating every last noodle in the bowl.
After finishing, he put down his chopsticks and smiled lightly at Jin Fu.
"Young Shopkeeper, how old are you this year?"
Jin Fu was somewhat puzzled; he always felt that this young man’s gaze was odd.
Almost like an elder examining a junior.
"Just turned eighteen," Jin Fu answered honestly.
Zhao Ya nodded, "Very good."
"Hmm? What’s good?" Jin Fu was a bit confused.
"I mean your age is good. Back in the day, when I was your age, I was full of vitality like you," Zhao Ya said.
If it weren’t for Zhao Ya’s imposing presence, Jin Fu would really want to swear.
He was only in his twenties, yet he spoke so old-fashioned.
But at this moment, Jin Fu could only accompany his smile, not daring to say anything else.
Zhao Ya saw this and chuckled to himself, deciding not to tease him anymore.
"Young Shopkeeper, are you prepared to guard this small eatery till the end of your life?"
"What else can I do?" Jin Fu said with a bitter smile.
"I have neither skill nor background, except for this small eatery left by my family; what else can I do?"
"So, if I offered a path, would you be willing to take it?"
"What path?" Jin Fu asked immediately, then quickly added.
"Just to be clear, I won’t do anything wicked."
Zhao Ya laughed, "Rest assured, if you were a wrongdoer, I wouldn’t want you anyway."
"Do you know who I am?"
A moment later, Jin Fu’s eyes widened, and his hands trembled slightly.
Because he knew that the decision he faced might determine his fate for life.
"So, do you want to or not...?"
"I want to!" Jin Fu said decisively, then knelt down.
"You must think carefully; once you join Azure Dragon Temple, you can never leave and must adhere to temple rules. Violations will be strictly punished," Zhao Ya said.
"Disciple has thought it through; if I truly violate temple rules, any punishment is welcome without complaint."
"Good, from now on, you are an Outer Disciple of Azure Dragon Temple," Zhao Ya decided straight away.
Jin Fu was trembling with excitement.
He knew that his fate was about to change.
Although the road ahead was still difficult, it was better than guarding a small eatery alone till death.
"Get up, then pack your things and report to the Azure Dragon Temple’s mountain gate. Tell them I recommended you; someone will greet you."
"Master...?"
"Don’t call me Master, I’m your Senior Brother, got it?" Zhao Ya corrected.
"Yes, Senior Brother, where are you going?" Jin Fu asked.
"Naturally to the next place to recruit disciples. Don’t ask too much, just pack up and leave quickly."
It was also a test for Jin Fu; if he couldn’t bear to part with his few belongings, his future achievements in Martial Dao would be limited.
"Understood." Jin Fu got up and went to busy himself.
Zhao Ya didn’t linger either, turned, and walked out of the small eatery.
Looking at those rich households in the distance, Zhao Ya suddenly recalled the sect mission he did as Hei Yunzi. It was clearly written.
Success would not only bring a sect contribution reward but also a bounty raised by these merchants.
But up until now, Zhao Ya hadn’t received the money.
If it were others, Zhao Ya might suspect embezzlement.
However, the person in charge of the sect mission was Shen Yunshen, who, apart from his fondness for drinks, didn’t care about money.
So there’s only one possibility, that these wealthy households were reneging and simply didn’t pay the money.
Perhaps they thought Azure Dragon Temple had such a large operation and wouldn’t care about this amount of silver. After all, Hei Yunzi was already apprehended, so no money was needed.
But Zhao Ya thought differently.
If Azure Dragon Temple wants to truly rise from the ashes, the most important thing is to change this ambiguous attitude.
Rewards for merits, punishments for wrongs.
Only in this way can Azure Dragon Temple earn true respect.
So Zhao Ya decided to resolve this matter before heading to Nandian Town.
Moments later, at the home of the largest wealthy family in Xiushui Town, Patriarch Sun Cheng was eating with his wives.
They were having hot pot.
Eating and singing, Sun Cheng got excited and asked his new wife to sing a ditty for entertainment.
Though it was freezing outside, inside was warm like spring. Sun Cheng was delighted, eating hot pot while listening to songs.
But at this moment, a figure suddenly appeared in the dining room.
"Oh my! Ghost!"
One of the wives fainted on the spot, but Sun Cheng, who had been around, showed some courage and knew that the visitor was no ordinary person, so he managed to ask.
"Who... who are you?"
Zhao Ya didn’t waste words, "Master Sun, Hei Yunzi has been eliminated; your caravan can operate again and profits during this period have been considerable."
Sun Cheng was speechless, "You... you..."
"I’m from Azure Dragon Temple. When you sought help from the temple, you know exactly what was said, don’t you? Now Hei Yunzi has been eliminated, but what about the money you promised us?" Zhao Ya said blandly.
Sun Cheng broke out in cold sweat.
After Hei Yunzi was eliminated, other merchants indeed mentioned paying the bounty, but Sun Cheng stopped them.
He thought Azure Dragon Temple wouldn’t care about such trivial matters; keeping that money, he could add more wives.
But unexpectedly, he was confronted.
He was speechless, eventually stammering, "I... I forgot. My apologies, I’ll have someone fetch it for you now."
"The previously agreed amount won’t do; now it must be double," Zhao Ya said.
Sun Cheng gritted his teeth, "Fine, double it is. But I’m not the only one who hasn’t paid; you should check the others too."
"That’s natural."
Sun Cheng dared not delay, commanded someone to fetch the money, and personally handed it to Zhao Ya.
Zhao Ya took it, opened it, and inside was a thick wad of gold leaves, which he nodded to approvingly.
"Alright, I won’t disturb Master Sun any longer, I’m leaving."
With that, Zhao Ya vanished from the dining room.
Sun Cheng shivered with fear, secretly glad he wasn’t greedy; otherwise, his head might be boiling in the hot pot now.
"Master... shall we continue?" one of his trembling wives asked.
"Eat, eat, eat, eat what? From today on, the whole family will eat vegetarian for a month," Sun Cheng said sadly.
Meanwhile, Zhao Ya swiftly visited all the wealthy households in Xiushui Town.
Some indeed were stubborn, unwilling to pay, but under Zhao Ya’s mild persuasion, they quickly reached a consensus.
By the time Zhao Ya left Xiushui Town with a bag full of gold leaves and headed to Nandian Town.
Xia Jiye of Azure Dragon Temple was meeting someone in a secluded corner of the back mountain.
"Here are the details of this mission’s target, along with his portrait," Xia Jiye tossed over a parcel.
The other was an ordinary middle-aged man, the kind you’d lose in a crowd.
He opened the parcel, looked, and snickered.
"Fifth Realm? When did Elder Xia have opponents of this level?"