Chapter Seventy-Three: The God of Wealth, the Shen Family: Eight Hundred Fiery Oxen Plow Under the Moonlit Night, Three Thousand Beauties Smile Amid the Spring Breeze

Golden Crow sets in the west, Jade Rabbit rises in the east.

Having gained some ability to protect himself after completing the initial ritual and joining the ranks, Wang Cheng returned that very day to Moon Harbor aboard the Zhang Fushun, a place to which his loyalty was questionable.

Before the ship had even come to a full stop, the white-headed eagle, Ah Ji, who had been circling overhead, rushed ahead onto land, riding the updrafts to survey the city below. His sharp eagle eyes, gazing from above, instantly locked onto every chicken coop in the city.

Since becoming a spirit creature, Ah Ji had grown even cleverer, switching between languages at will—from the majestic calls of the red-tailed hawk, to the bumbling tones of the white-headed eagle, and finally the familiar clucking of chicken-speak—all with effortless mastery.

He understood well the truth behind the saying, "Respect is something you give yourself when out in the world." Yet this display drew the hostility of many proud roosters in the city.

The wind-powered warship, Azure Robe, did not travel with him, temporarily anchored at the nearby settlement of the boat-dwelling people, where Zhang Wu, a reserve Saltman, was tasked with intensifying their training.

Recently, Xie He from the gentry faction, along with some rogue officials, had raided several communities devoted to Lady Banquet, kidnapping temple attendants and triggering a chain reaction. The boat people, deprived of their own officials, found life at sea increasingly perilous, forcing them to seek refuge among kin.

Under Ah Xiao’s leadership, this particular group of boat people had swelled several times over in a short span.

While many worried about their future livelihoods, Wang Cheng arrived with a timely solution.

The crew quota of two hundred for the Azure Robe was filled with ease, each assigned a position and trained in navigation. The warship thus regained its peak combat strength.

With some additional vessels joining in, the fleet under the Azure Robe Fishing Guild expanded from two ships to five or six, enough to organize expeditions for large hauls at sea.

For others, such an influx of boat people might have raised fears of the ship’s leadership being undermined, prompting the need for other factions to maintain balance.

Wang Cheng, however, was unconcerned.

Outsiders could not grasp the weight of casting nine sacred cups before the Sea Goddess for the boat people.

Currently, even the prestige of Prince Jing was only slightly inferior.

Even without relying on the Four Seas Treasure or the various skills mastered by the White Water Man as insurance, if he revealed his identity on the spot, he could turn the tide instantly.

Perhaps Wang Cheng could not suppress the Five Peaks Banner composed of elder uncles and patriarchs, but holding sway over his own Azure Robe Guild was effortless.

Thud, thud, thud...

A group of robust boatmen, dressed in uniform indigo tunics, swords at their waists and triple-barreled flintlocks slung over their shoulders, disembarked first under Zhang Wen’s lead.

Wang Cheng, clad in a sapphire long robe with arrow sleeves, stepped onto the gangplank they had laid, walking onto the pier.

Behind him followed Ah Xiao, the Pearl Diver, in a white dress and veiled hat.

Standing together, they bore a strikingly similar aura. At a glance, one might mistake them for a young master and mistress from an official family returning home to visit.

"Moon Harbor has changed a lot since before," Ah Xiao remarked nostalgically, her tone hinting that her "before" might span far more than just a few years.

Wang Cheng cast a curious look at the temple attendant of Lady Banquet. Unfortunately, "Rare Goods Worth Keeping" remained unchanged; where once it showed only Pearl Diver Ah Xiao’s name, now it simply displayed Pearl Diver Yun Xiao. Even that name she had volunteered herself.

"Ah Xiao is seventh rank, I am seventh rank too, yet I see no treasure light from a symbol-stabilizing item on her. Why is 'Rare Goods Worth Keeping' still not working? I suspect the secrets she holds rival mine," Wang Cheng mused, scanning Moon Harbor with Ah Xiao’s gaze.

Compared to when he left last year, the city was visibly more desolate, with only the ritual business unexpectedly thriving. Even at dusk, processions for wandering spirits had yet to disperse, the air thick with pungent incense smoke.

On the pier, several seemingly ordinary laborers—actually spies for the gentry faction—were exposed by his keen perception as nothing more than minor obstacles.

Now, Wang Cheng was a changed man; unless a mid-third-rank official from the eight major ship heads intervened personally, all others were mere trifles.

"Let's go," he said.

Just as they were about to enter the port, Yun Xiao suddenly looked up at the sky, her brows knitting.

Wang Cheng noticed his "coin-printing machine"—the Craftsman Silver—quivered slightly, as if it had sensed something desperately desired. By the time he tried to retrieve and inspect the item, the disturbance had already faded. He set it aside for now, intending to investigate later in private.

He instructed Zhang Wen to escort Ah Xiao to his small courtyard at Fenglin Studio, while he himself planned to ascend Baoshan Beacon Tower to pay respects to his master, Shen Yuting, who kept vigil there every night.

Ah Xiao nodded calmly: "Any place to shelter will do. Wealthy One, go about your business. In the coming days, I will visit the temples of all deities under the Sea Goddess in Moon Harbor. That noble from the Han family chose to act here—he has picked the wrong battlefield."

"Very well, Sister Xiao. Master has already ordered the Mountain and Sea Society to fully support you. If you need help, just let me know."

After parting, Wang Cheng climbed Baoshan Beacon Tower alone.

At the top, the lantern room was alight, its brilliance—empowered by the Guardian Deity—piercing the fading night for miles, guiding ships through the darkness.

Beside it, incense smoke curled in the small temple, where an elderly man, gaunt and frail, sat upright in an official's hat chair.

One by one, voices from the Mountain and Sea Society managers echoed through the incense smoke:

"Hall Official, the evil spirit known as 'The Flesh Seamstress' appeared in Huaihua Alley in the west of the city. A couple running a wonton stall were sewn together with needle and thread."

"Hall Official, the evil spirit 'Starving Ghost' surfaced at Xiangshui Bridge in the north. It is over ten feet tall, has devoured six sheep and their shepherd, and is still eating..."

Just now, even the thunderbolts crafted by the alchemist priests were consumed by it.

"Hall Official, the evil spirit 'Head-Knocking Borrowed Life' appeared near the southern docks, possessing Master Zhang. Every time he bows, another Zhang family descendant dies..."

When Wang Cheng arrived, Shen Yuting was too busy to greet his favored disciple, waving him aside to wait.

Yet "Rare Goods Worth Keeping" had already scanned the old man.

This time, unlike with Ah Xiao, no anomaly occurred.

Perhaps because Wang Cheng had reached seventh rank through ritual and advancement, the information he now saw was indeed more detailed:

"...Shen Yuting, Patriarch of the Shen family's God of Wealth. The Shen family is famed for: Eight hundred fiery oxen plow by moonlight, three thousand beauties laugh in the spring breeze. In the Yunmeng Empire and early Great Zhao, they were indisputably the richest under heaven, renowned for their symbol-stabilizing treasure, the 'Treasure Basin'..."

"God of Wealth Shen family?!"

Wang Cheng’s heart trembled. Unwittingly glimpsing such secrets, he nearly lost composure.

The Shen family was legendary; throughout the Great Zhao dynasty, few were unaware, their fame even greater than the Water Drawing King's family.

The key figure, the Living God of Wealth Shen Wansan, was acknowledged as the greatest tycoon of the past three centuries and the strongest 'Court Steward' among mortals.

Sadly, in this world, the rule is: if you are the strongest fighter, others fear you; if you are the richest, everyone covets your wealth.

Shen Wansan, the Living God of Wealth, was careless in his early years, exposing the roots of his treasure and thus becoming a victim of envy.

He held a symbol-stabilizing item of "national treasure" caliber—the Treasure Basin—which stirred countless storms.

He died unexpectedly before the founding of Great Zhao.

Though posthumously honored in the "Twenty-Four Solar Terms" as the Living God of Wealth, becoming a folk deity among watermen in Jiangnan, the Shen family nonetheless fell from grace. One day, both the family and the Treasure Basin vanished without a trace, leaving those who coveted their immense wealth empty-handed.

Wang Cheng suddenly understood:

"Since Master became the Hall Official of the Mountain and Sea Society, his ancestors probably, like mine, sailed out with the Treasure Fleet and ended up stranded overseas. Now, returning to Moon Harbor, still bearing the appearance of one aged beyond his years, I suspect it is all because of the curse of possessing a precious treasure."